On this page
Note:
Government officials will NEVER ask you to transfer money, disclose bank log-in details, install mobile apps from unofficial app stores, or transfer your call to the police over a phone call. Call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 if you are unsure if something is a scam.
Scammers are putting up fake property listings online and impersonating property agents to scam victims into making payment to secure an appointment to view or rent the property. In Singapore, all property agents must be registered with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) before they can facilitate property transactions.
You should not pay any deposit to view or rent a property without verifying the legitimacy of the property listing.
Here is more information about property scams and how you can protect yourself against them.
How rental scams work
How to stay safe from rental scams?
Verify the identity of the property agent – Ensure that the person you are dealing with is a CEA-registered property agent. You should use the phone number advertised or used by the person to perform a search on the CEA Public Register. If the search does not lead to a property agent’s profile page, it means that the phone number is not registered with CEA.
It is likely a scam even though the property agent’s name and registration number can be found on the CEA Public Register. Find out how to check if your property agent is registered with CEA.Do not make any payment before viewing the property – You are strongly advised to view the property with the CEA-registered agent in person to verify that it exists. Payment is not required to secure viewings and/ or rental of the property.
All payments should be made directly to the property owner and not the property agent, using verifiable modes of payment.
Cases of Rental Scams
In recent years, there has been an emergence of rental scams involving impersonation of property agents in Singapore.
Scammers would post fake property listings on various advertisement sites and online platforms, and impersonate registered property agents by using their credentials (e.g., CEA registration number, business card, and photos/ videos of the property to be leased).
Victims would initiate a conversation with the scammer through WhatsApp using the contact number listed on the fake listing, who would then pressure the victims to make payment in order to secure the rental property.
Case 1 - Use of mobile number not registered with CEA
Ms A responded to an online listing for a room rental that had been posted by a scammer impersonating a CEA-registered property agent. The scammer communicated with Ms A through WhatsApp using a Malaysian mobile number, claiming to be based in Malaysia.
Ms A was asked to pay a one-month refundable rental deposit to secure an appointment to view the property. Ms A, sensing that something was amiss and questioning the need to pay a deposit before viewing, decided to alert CEA about this peculiar practice.
CEA looked into the case and found that the said listing was not posted by the registered property agent and the Malaysian mobile number did not belong the property agent.
CEA quickly informed Ms A not to communicate further with the scammer, preventing her from being scammed. A police report was lodged to highlight the scam listing to Police.
Case 2 - Impersonating and spoofing a CEA-registered property agent
Mr B responded to a scammer’s online listing for an HDB 2-room flat rental.
The scammer, impersonating a CEA-registered property agent, sent Mr B via WhatsApp an image of the agent’s Estate Agents card as “proof” of his identity. He also prepared documents, such as the Letter of Intent, which is a preliminary agreement between two parties before a deal is finalised, for the rental, to add to his legitimacy.
The scammer asked Mr B to pay a 2-month rental deposit and the 1st month’s rental, promising to arrange the viewing and the signing of the tenancy agreement the following day.
Mr B searched for the scammer’s contact number on the CEA Public Register but the search did not yield any results. Mr B then confronted the scammer, who was able to deceive Mr B by spoofing the legitimate property agent’s registered contact number (with “+65”) to call Mr B.
Mr B transferred partial payment to the scammer and decided to call the registered contact number again. When the call was answered by the legitimate property agent, who was unaware of all that had transpired, Mr B realised that he had been scammed and decided to lodge a police report.
New variant:
To mislead potential victims that their contact number is legitimate, scammers may provide a screenshot of a fake CEA email, which states that the impersonated property agent's 'new' phone number will take 14 days to be updated in the CEA Public Register.
CEA does not send such emails, and changes in contact numbers by property agents are immediately reflected in the CEA Public Register.
Case 3 - Use of Personal Assistant as intermediary
Miss C found an online advertisement for a condominium rental and contacted the advertiser through the phone number listed via WhatsApp. However, she did not know that the advertisement was put up by a scammer impersonating a CEA-registered property agent.
The scammer first informed that the advertised property was not available. He then introduced Miss C to another condominium and arranged for her to view the unit in person with his “personal assistant”.
Miss C agreed to rent the unit. She received the rental agreements over WhatsApp and was asked to pay a rental deposit equivalent to 2 months’ rent to another person whom the scammer claimed was the landlord.
After paying the deposit, she started receiving messages from an unknown person asking for more payment. She suspected that something was wrong and subsequently managed to contact the legitimate CEA-registered property agent through his phone number registered with CEA.
Miss C then realised that she was being scammed by an impersonator and lodged a police report.
To avoid rental scams, you should always verify the identity of the property agent by searching the advertised phone number against CEA’s Public Register. You should view the property with the CEA-registered property agent in person and only make payment to the property owner directly, using verifiable payment modes such as crossed cheques and bank transfers.
Visit the Singapore Police Force website for the latest advisories on rental scams.
Stay safe with ScamShield
ScamShield is a suite of products and tools that helps defend against scams. The suite consists of the ScamShield helpline (reachable at 1799), ScamShield app (for iPhone and Android), a website with a range of anti-scam resources, and ScamShield Alert Social Channels on WhatsApp and Telegram.
You can visit the ScamShield website to keep yourself updated on the various scams that are happening in Singapore and learn how to fight against scams.