Victims were tricked into transferring money to secure visits in the hot property market
SINGAPORE — Eight people are being investigated for their alleged involvement in recent rental scams where they allegedly tricked victims into transferring supposedly refundable deposits in order to secure viewing appointments the property.
The fake property listings were posted on various websites and platforms, police said Saturday, May 21.
They added that three men and five women, aged between 20 and 47, are being investigated following an island-wide anti-scam operation on Wednesday and Thursday by their Anti-Corruption Command. -scam.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the eight people allegedly received illicit proceeds from the rental scams in their bank accounts.
“They had come across job or loan offers, phishing links or gambling sites, and allegedly abandoned bank accounts or disclosed their personal information for various purposes, such as for easy money or get loans,” police said.
For allegedly giving up their bank accounts, they can be fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.
Police said parties should check the legitimacy of a property listing by ensuring contact numbers match those on the Estates Council’s website, where details of the agencies are listed.
Police added that no payments should be made to secure home viewings as estate agents are not permitted to handle cash transactions.
Private house prices in Singapore jumped 10.6% last year, the strongest annual growth since 2010.
Meanwhile, Housing Commission resale apartment prices edged up for the 22nd consecutive month in April.
A four-bedroom unit at [email protected] resold for $1.228m – the highest paid for a four-bedroom flat – while a five-bedroom flat in Henderson Road changed hands for $1.4m dollars at the beginning of the month.
Rental prices for HDB apartments and private apartments had also hit new highs in April amid falling rental volumes.
In their notice, police said that to avoid becoming involved in money laundering activities, members of the public should always reject requests to use their bank accounts to receive and transfer money for d ‘others.
They are also reminded to be wary of unknown numbers with the “+65” prefix, especially on WhatsApp.