SHAH ALAM – What started as an attempt to score a good deal on pickleball balls turned into a cautionary tale about online scams, as pickleball players in Malaysia rallied together to warn each other about fraudsters lurking in community groups.
In a Facebook group called Pickleball Stories Malaysia, a user named Jane Teh recently highlighted an unsettling trend where scammers targeted pickleball enthusiasts.
She urged fellow members to stay vigilant when making transactions with unknown individuals, whether buying paddles, balls, or even investing in pickleball courts.
Jane’s warning came alongside words from Darren Yong, a fellow pickleball enthusiast who had recently fallen victim to a scam.
She shared screenshots of Darren's conversation with the scammer to raise awareness and alert others on his behalf.
"Hi fellow pickleballers, Darren here. Posting this to see if anyone else is in a similar position and hopefully spare you from making the same mistake," Jane wrote.
Darren's experience sparked an in-depth discussion among group members, who rallied together to raise awareness and protect each other from similar fraudulent encounters.
Darren recently shared his ordeal in the Pickleball Stories Malaysia Facebook group, which sparked a wave of conversation.
He stressed how he had found a promising ad from a seller named Mohd Dzahid, who claimed to offer pickleball balls at a reasonable price.
Intrigued, Darren reached out to the seller and transferred RM50 via Touch 'n Go, which included RM40 for the balls and RM10 for delivery to Kuala Lumpur.
However, days went by without a single update on his purchase.
When Darren followed up on Oct 22, the seller spun a new tale: the delivery fee had supposedly increased to RM35, and he now needed an extra RM25. But the seller’s story didn’t add up; when asked for a tracking number, he claimed he had "forgotten to save it.”
Suspicious, Darren waited a few more days, but by Oct 25, he decided enough was enough and warned the seller that he would go public if the balls didn’t arrive.
True to his word, Darren posted his experience in the group, complete with screenshots, to spare other players the same frustration.
The response from fellow players was overwhelming.
Several members shared their own encounters with the same seller, revealing a pattern of deception targeting the pickleball community.
"The scammer's number is no longer on TNG. The name is different from the seller's,” Darren added.
What seemed like an isolated case became a rallying cry for caution, with players urging each other to double-check sellers and avoid risky transactions with unknown individuals.