According to the Police media release a 32-year-old man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in a series of rental scams.
In a span of three months in 2022, the Police receiveved multiple reports from victims who were scammed of their money by an online advertisement which offers the rental residential units. Like many other rental scams, the advertiser went missing after receiving the deposit and remained uncontactable.
Woodlands Police Division was able to uncover the identity of the man behind the scams and subsequently arrested him on March 14 2022. Investigations revealed that the man is involved in 24 such cases and at least $54,700 was defrauded from the victims.
The man was charged in court on 16 March 2022 with the offence of cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term which may extend up to 10 years and a fine.
Members of the public are advised to adopt the following measures to avoid falling prey to rental scams:
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.