SINGAPORE: A 25-year-old Malaysian man working in Singapore, recently found himself the victim of a rental scam after desperately searching for affordable housing due to increasing rent prices in the city-state.
Mr Li (transliterated from Mandarin), who works as a hairdresser, lost $600 when he paid a deposit for a room in a property he found through social media. The incident has raised concerns about the rising number of online rental scams in Singapore.
Mr Li told Channel 8 news that his ordeal began when he stumbled upon a Facebook post on Sept 15 advertising a room for rent in Block 320, Ubi Avenue 1, priced at $600. Faced with an impending rent increase from $450 to $650 in his current accommodation, where he was sharing a bedroom with another person, he decided to explore this opportunity.
Impressed by the property’s photos and the seemingly reasonable rental fee, Mr Li initiated contact with a man who identified himself John Kho, claiming to be the nephew of the landlord.
To further establish credibility, John Kho provided Mr. Li with a screenshot containing the address of the Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat, the owner’s information, and even attached an ID card.
With these documents seemingly validating the legitimacy of the rental, Mr Li proceeded to transfer a $600 deposit to the owner’s bank account, as per the information provided by John Kho.
However, Mr Li became suspicious on Sept 18 when John Kho contacted him, requesting an additional $600 as rent for the upcoming month of October. Mr Li, who had not yet received the keys or moved into the property, refused to make the additional payment.
It was at this point that he realised he might have fallen victim to a scam.
After researching online, Mr Li discovered that another individual had encountered a similar scam. Fearing he had been duped, he promptly reported the incident to the police.
The Singapore Police Force confirmed the receipt of Mr Li’s report and stated that an investigation was ongoing. Channel 8 news also reported that checks on the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) websites showed that the address provided by John Kho does not exist.
This incident is part of a troubling trend in Singapore, where online rental scams have been on the rise. According to official statistics, there were a total of 979 reported online platform rental scams in Singapore last year, a sharp increase from 192 the previous year.
In response to the growing concern, Sun Xueling, Minister of State for the Ministry of Home Affairs, has advised the public to exercise caution and vigilance when searching for rental accommodations.
Scammers often impersonate housing agents or homeowners and publish fraudulent online advertisements for house rentals. The police have been working closely with online platforms to remove suspicious accounts and advertisements while also collaborating with the Real Estate Agents Council to educate the public about fraud prevention through social media.
Ms Sun Xueling emphasised the importance of conducting property searches through legitimate real estate platforms such as PropertyGuru, discouraging the use of non-real estate leasing platforms like Facebook and Carousell. Additionally, she urged individuals to avoid making any payments before personally viewing the property to prevent falling victim to scams.