More than $43,000 lost by victims

A 42-year-old woman will be charged on Wednesday November 16 for her alleged involvement in a series of rental scams.

Police said they received eighteen reports of home rental scams involving more than $43,000 lost by victims between June and November 2022.

The victims had posted advertisements online looking for a place to rent and the woman had contacted them to offer them her place.

“Unbeknownst to the victims, the woman was in the process of selling the property to a new landlord and had received rent advances and payments from him before signing the rental agreements,” police added.

Through follow-up investigations, officers from the Woodlands Police Division established the woman’s identity and arrested her on Monday.

The woman will be charged in court with cheating, which carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine.

Members of the public are reminded to beware of such scams and to adopt the following crime prevention measures:

• Do not pay a deposit until the rental is confirmed and pay the rental deposit and the rents by check or by bank transfer for proof;

• Visit the accommodation you intend to rent to confirm its existence, condition and signs of multiple sublets; and

• Verify the identity of the person(s) you are dealing with and their relationship to the accommodation, particularly when you are not engaging the services of a licensed estate agent or registered sellers.

For more information on the scams, members of the public can visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688.

Anyone with information about such scams can call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.