Netizen submission: Recently, the "motorcycle gang" in Cambodia has upgraded their modus operandi, causing some Chinese compatriots to suffer financial losses. Xiao Chen (pseudonym) from Guangxi is the latest victim, who lost an Apple phone due to a well-planned scam on the early morning of February 5.
Xiao Chen said: That night, after a gathering with friends, he called a tuk-tuk home via a ride-hailing platform. However, as soon as he got on, he felt something was wrong, as the driver was heading in a direction completely opposite to his home. "At that time, I thought he was just taking a detour and didn't pay much attention."
During the ride, the driver suddenly threw something out, and Xiao Chen mistakenly thought it was his phone that had fallen, so he immediately asked the driver to stop and pick up the phone. However, when he hurriedly got out of the vehicle, his real phone was still in the tuk-tuk, and the driver took the opportunity to accelerate and drive away from the scene, giving him no chance to react.
After the incident, Xiao Chen tried to locate his phone using its GPS but found that it had been turned off, making it impossible to contact the driver. With no other options, he immediately contacted the ride-hailing platform for help.
After an investigation by the platform, the results were even more shocking—there was no record of this driver in Xiao Chen's ride order that night. This means that he likely encountered a fake ride-hailing tuk-tuk driver, who took advantage of the late hour and the relaxed vigilance of intoxicated passengers to create the illusion of a dropped phone and commit theft.
Afterward, Xiao Chen quickly reissued his mobile number and changed all apps involving bank payments to prevent further financial losses. However, he said he has no hope of getting his phone back.
"This must have been the most expensive tuk-tuk ride I've ever taken in Cambodia, and I didn't expect to fall for it," Xiao Chen lamented.
Such cases have now occurred in many places in Cambodia, and the police remind the public, especially the Chinese community, to be more vigilant when traveling at night, to use officially certified ride-hailing services, and to carefully check the driver's information before getting into the car to avoid falling into similar scams.
