At least $1.8m lost to property rental scams from July to November
Some 287 people have lost at least $1.8 million between July and November 2023 to scammers posing as property agents, police said on Dec 11.
These victims were pressured into making payments to secure a viewing or rent a property, said police in a statement, warning that there was a resurgence of such scam cases.
Victims would respond to sponsored property rental listings on social media platforms, with Facebook being the most common. Other platforms include online marketplace Carousell and rental advertisement sites.
The scammers would pose as actual property agents registered with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA). When contacted using WhatsApp by their victims, the scammers would send them photos of a CEA registration number, business cards and virtual tours of the purported rental property, said police.
But the contact numbers used by these criminals would differ from the contact details of the legitimate agents they posed as.
Scammers would press the victims into making a deposit to view the property by claiming that demand for the unit was high.
In some cases, at least 77 victims have lost $473,000 in total after they were asked to meet fake “personal assistants” to view a property, added police.
After the viewing, these victims were told to provide personal details for the tenancy agreement and pay rent using bank transfers or PayNow.
Victims would learn that they have been duped after scammers cut off contact with them or when they reached out to the actual property agent who was being impersonated.
The police urge the public to check whether phone numbers advertised in property listing correspond with those of actual agents on the CEA Public Register. Otherwise, the property listing is likely to be a scam.
“Do not rely on Facebook or Carousell listings or the assurances of the scammer over WhatsApp,” said police.
Police also said that property agents are not permitted to demand payment for property viewings, and that rental deposits must be paid to the landlord’s bank accounts, not a personal bank account or PayNow number.
Victims should also report the fraudulent pages to the online platforms they are listed on, said police.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688.
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