A young couple's dreams of finding the perfect home turned into a nightmare after they were cheated out of $7,000 in an elaborate rental scam.
The victims, fitness instructors JM and Faz, both in their mid-30s, were one of several couples lured by promises of unbelievably good deals on condominiums in Paya Lebar.
The couple, who recently had a baby, wanted to secure a new home before their current lease expired. They stumbled across what seemed to be the perfect property on Facebook Marketplace and got in touch with someone named Mike Tay, who claimed to be a PropNex agent.
Despite conducting their due diligence, checking the real estate agent's license and visiting the property, the couple fell victim to a meticulously planned scam.
“I've been renting for 12 years. This isn't my first time renting a house so I looked into it thoroughly to make sure it was legal. I went to PropNex and checked his license number,” JM told 8days.
What added to the couple's frustration was that, as is common in the industry, the only person they were allowed to see was the alleged agent's “assistant.”
“This is not uncommon. My current agent does the same thing when he has to visit several properties at the same time. I've toured nearly 15 properties this month, and sometimes I only met with the agent's partner or assistant,” JM explained.
The scam was discovered when the couple arrived at what appeared to be a condominium on the evening of September 16th to find two other couples there waiting for “Mike.”
The “agent” never showed up and it soon became apparent that three couples had been scammed, losing a total of several thousand dollars in deposits.
Having lost $7,200, JM and Faz were especially anxious as their lease was coming to an end.
“The original plan was to buy a flat. Now that my permanent residence permit has been approved and I have just received my entitlement certificate for an HDB flat, I will be applying for a BTO soon. But it will take time, so I still need to rent,” says JM, who moved from the Philippines.
To make matters worse, JM and Fuzz admitted they had a “gut feeling” about the deal, and in particular that the “agent” was keen to secure their deposit.
“Whenever we asked for something, they responded very quickly. They were quick to say, 'OK, it's OK,'” JM recalled.
Fuzz added: “Normally we would have to check with the landlord, but Mike agreed within 15 minutes.”
JM believes scammers have exploited their desperation.
“They say we made the decision too late and that there are already many visitors. They put us in this situation to rush us,” she said.
Since sharing their story, JM has been contacted by strangers who almost fell victim to the same scam from the exact same unit, and even the exact same list of “agents.”
“Apparently they are still in negotiations and operating under a different phone number. They are still speaking to her and have informed her that she is late with her deposit. She liked the place but her boyfriend felt it was suspicious and wanted to make sure they were speaking to a real person first. Thankfully she hasn't paid her deposit,” JM said.
The couple have since filed a police report and sought help from PropNex, and hope their experience will serve as a warning to other renters.
“It's a very common practice to give the deposit to an agent who then passes it on to the landlord. It's all about trust. People are warned not to click on the links to avoid being scammed, but no one talks about how this is also a big market for scams,” Faz pointed out.
“Even if we can't get our money back, we can at least raise awareness about it,” JM added.