Rental scams resurface, 305 victims lost S$1.7 million from January to sham property agents: Police

SINGAPORE — At least 305 people have fallen victim since January to scams when trying to rent a place from people pretending to be property agents, losing at least S$1.7 million in the process.

The police warned the public that such rental scams are re-emerging, with the culprits often pressuring the victims to make payment to secure a rental property even before viewing it.

In a news release on Tuesday (March 21), the police detailed how people were tricked:

• Victims would typically respond to sponsored online property rental listings on various advertisement sites such as Facebook and Carousell
• They initiate a conversation with the scammer via WhatsApp, using the contact numbers listed in the fake online listing
• Impersonating a registered property agent, the scammer would convince the victims of his or her credentials
• The scammer would send a picture of a legitimate property agent’s registration number under the Council for Estate Agencies, a business card and related media content such as pictures or virtual tours or videos of the property to be leased
• When the victims ask if they may view the property, the scammer would pretend that there was intense demand for the unit and would pressure the victims to quickly make a deposit to a Singapore bank account to secure the deal

In some cases, before asking for the rental deposit, the scammer would ask for the victims’ personal details to prepare a purported lease agreement and would send a copy of the agreement with the name and national identity card of the supposed property owner to the victims for their signature.

Victims would find out that they had been cheated after the scammer stop contacting them or when they reach out to legitimate property agents through other ways.

In an island-wide operation between March 9 and 13, the police already arrested 13 people for their suspected involvement in a series of rental scams where victims lost more than S$1.3 million in 480 reported cases.

Last August, the police were warning of this form of scams, where at least 997 people had lost a total of S$3.9 million since January last year. 

Reminding the public again to be more alert and vigilant, the police said on Tuesday that people should take note of the following:

• Enable security features such as a two-factor authentication for their bank accounts and Singpass (the national authentication system for e-services), as well as social media
• When in doubt or suspecting a scam, check with official sources by verifying if a property listing is true or authentic
• This can be done by contacting the property agent using only the agent’s phone number registered on the Council for Estate Agencies' public register at www.cea.gov.sg/public-register

Members of the public may visit www.scamalert.sg or call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 for more information on scams.

Anyone with information about scams may contact the police at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online to www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.