A 23-year-old Malaysian woman fell victim to a Singapore rental scam, in which the other party tried to extort more money by accusing her of money laundering, sending fake lawyer letters, and even threatening to set fire to her home in Malaysia.
Kota Tinggi native Huang Xiaohan (transliterated), who works in retail, told Sin Chew Daily News that she had already been working in Singapore for a few years, and had previously rented a room under a friend’s recommendation.
When the lease expired, she went on Facebook to find a new place at the end of February, where she stumbled upon an advertisement about a flat for rent in Serangoon.
She then contacted a woman on WhatsApp, who according to Shin Min Daily News, went by the name “Christina” (transliterated), who claimed to be the owner of the house.
Speaking in a press conference, Huang said that Christina claimed that the room was in high demand, and was told to pay a deposit of $1,250.
Two days later, the other party told her of another potential tenant who could pay for a month’s deposit and rent, and told Huang that she will be the tenant if she could pay for the full amount.
After a series of bargaining, Huang decided to transfer $800 to Christina via PayNow, and promised to pay the rest of the sum after seeing the house.
Rushed to seal the deal
Huang told Shin Min that she had rushed to make the deal as the rental felt reasonable for its location, despite not being provided with an address or a unit number.
