A 23-year-old Malaysian woman working in Singapore reportedly lost S$2,500 after falling victim to a suspected rental scam while searching for a new place to stay.
The victim, identified as Huang Xiaohan (transliteration), had been renting accommodation in Singapore for about two years. With her existing lease due to expire in March, she began looking for a new room in February.
During her search, Huang came across a rental advertisement on Facebook offering a unit in Serangoon at what appeared to be a reasonable price. After contacting the poster, who introduced herself as “Christina” and claimed to be the landlord, Huang was asked to transfer a deposit quickly because the room was supposedly in high demand.
Without being given the exact address or unit number of the property, Huang transferred S$1,250 via PayNow on Feb. 28 to secure the booking.
Second Payment Requested Before Viewing
Two days after the initial payment, the alleged landlord informed Huang that another tenant was prepared to pay both the deposit and a full month’s rent to secure the unit.
Fearing she might lose the room, Huang agreed to match the offer. She negotiated to first transfer S$800, with the remaining S$450 to be paid after viewing the property.
However, the situation soon took a suspicious turn. The supposed landlord became unreachable shortly after the payment arrangements were made.
When Huang attempted to call the number linked to the PayNow account, a man answered and claimed that Christina was his sister-in-law. According to him, she could not respond because she was busy caring for a sick child.
The man then asked Huang to transfer the remaining S$450, which she did. Along with the payment, Huang also sent copies of her work permit and personal documents as part of what she believed was a standard rental verification process.
Victim Accused Of Money Laundering
After receiving the funds, the man allegedly informed Huang that the bank account used to collect the money had been frozen.
He accused her of involvement in money laundering and claimed that S$7,700 was stuck in the account as a result. He then demanded that Huang compensate him for the amount and even sent her a lawyer’s letter as proof.
Suspicious about the sudden accusations, Huang decided to report the matter to the police. Authorities later informed her that the legal letter she received was fraudulent.
Investigations into the suspected scam are currently ongoing.
Threats Escalate With Arson Warning
The situation escalated further when Huang received another letter claiming she had borrowed money from loan sharks.
The document reportedly contained her Malaysian home address and copies of her identification documents, which alarmed her family.
Concerned about the threats, Huang reported the matter to the Malaysian police as well.
Later that same evening, she received a phone call from someone claiming to represent a loan shark syndicate. The caller allegedly demanded S$1,500 and warned that her family home in Malaysia would be set on fire if the payment was not made.
Following the ordeal, Huang said she has become wary of online property listings and plans to rely on recommendations from trusted contacts when searching for accommodation in the future.
She also hopes that sharing her experience will raise awareness about rental scams targeting people urgently looking for housing in Singapore.