Woman loses over $15k in alleged rental scam despite viewing unit twice: 'How could I have been so trusting?'

More than a year after losing thousands of dollars in a rental scam, a woman is speaking out about her experience in the hope of preventing others from falling victim to similar schemes.

Speaking to AsiaOne on Monday (Oct 20), Pamela Alliana, 36, said she had lost $15,120 in May 2025 while trying to secure a rental condo unit in Paya Lebar.

"(It) was one of the darkest periods of my life. I was embarrassed, heartbroken and traumatised," said the mother of one.

"I am choosing to speak up not because I want sympathy, but because I don't want anyone else to experience what I went through."

Alliana, who is from the Philippines, shared that she had been searching for a property where she could be the main tenant, as she needed a residential address for her son's student pass application and her nanny's work permit.

'Convinced everything was legitimate'

She turned to Facebook, where she came across a rental listing and contacted the property agent through WhatsApp, who initially told her that the unit was available.

The following day, however, the agent informed her that the unit was no longer available and offered her another property instead.

Alliana said she continued communicating with the agent about the rental arrangements, exchanging information and arranging viewings.

"I had seen the place with my own eyes, not just once but twice, and I was convinced everything was legitimate," she recounted.

Alliana added that a tenancy agreement was subsequently prepared using the identification details of a person who was presented to her as the property owner.

She agreed to a two-year lease and transferred $8,400, which she understood to cover a two-month security deposit and one month's advance rent.

She was then asked to pay another $3,360 for what was described as a deposit required by the condominium developer, which she said she was assured that the amount would be refunded when she moved in.

Alliana was subsequently asked to transfer a further $3,360 for what was described as a government tax filing fee, with the assurance that the money would be returned within one working day.

"I was someone who wanted to settle everything all at once. I believed the money would be refunded and i wanted everything to be ready before I moved in, so I kept paying," she said.

In total, Alliana transferred $15,120, before she could no longer reach the property agent on WhatsApp.

'Being scammed doesn't mean I deserved it'

Alliana told AsiaOne she went to a police station in June 2025 to report the incident and said she has yet to receive the resolution she had hoped for.

Looking back, Alliana said she wished she had independently verified the requests before making the payments.

"I kept asking myself, 'How could this have happened to me? How could I have been so trusting?' What made it even harder was that I was in Singapore, a country I had always considered safe," she said.

"But I have come to realise that being scammed doesn't mean I deserved it, and it doesn't mean I'm stupid. I was deceived by people I believed I could trust."

She hopes that sharing her experience will encourage others to be more cautious when arranging rental accommodation, particularly when asked to transfer money before moving in.

"I cannot turn back time or recover the peace of mind I lost during that period. If sharing my story can protect even one person from going through the same thing, then at least something good can come out of this painful experience," she said.

Victims lose over $5.6m to rental and other scams

Earlier this year, 255 people aged between 16 and 77 were investigated for their suspected involvement in more than 660 scam cases, including rental scams , with victims losing about $5.6 million.

The scam cases also include e-commerce, friend impersonation, job, government official impersonation and investment.

Those arrested were investigated for various alleged offences, including cheating, money laundering and providing payment services without a licence.

xingying.koh@asiaone.com

在租房骗局中损失数千美元一年多后，一名女子公开讲述自己的经历，希望能够防止其他人成为类似骗局的受害者。

36 岁的 Pamela Alliana 于周一（10 月 20 日）接受 AsiaOne 采访时表示，她在 2025 年 5 月试图在巴耶利峇租一套公寓时损失了 15,120 美元。

“那是我人生中最黑暗的时期之一。我感到羞愧、心碎，并且受到了创伤，”这位育有一子的母亲说道。

“我选择站出来发声，不是为了博取同情，而是因为我不想让其他人经历我所经历的一切。”

来自菲律宾的艾莉安娜表示，她一直在寻找一处可以让她作为主要租户居住的房产，因为她需要一个居住地址来为她儿子的学生准证申请和保姆的工作许可证办理。

“确信一切都是合法的”

她转而求助于 Facebook，在那里她看到了一则出租房源信息，并通过 WhatsApp 联系了房产中介，中介最初告诉她这套房子是可以出租的。

然而，第二天，经纪人就通知她这套房子已经不能住了，并给她提供了另一处房产作为替代方案。

阿莉安娜说，她继续与经纪人沟通租赁安排，交换信息并安排看房。

“我亲眼见过那个地方，不止一次，而是两次，我确信一切都是合法的，”她回忆道。

阿莉安娜补充说，随后使用向她介绍的自称是房东的人的身份信息准备了一份租赁协议。

她同意签订一份为期两年的租约，并支付了 8400 美元，她认为这笔钱包括两个月的押金和一个月的预付租金。

随后，她被要求支付另外 3360 美元，这笔钱被描述为公寓开发商要求的押金。她说，开发商向她保证，这笔钱在她入住时会退还给她。

随后，Alliana 被要求再支付 3,360 美元，据称是政府的税务申报费，并保证这笔钱将在一个工作日内退还。

“我当时想把所有事情一次性解决。我相信钱会退还给我，而且我想在搬进去之前一切都准备就绪，所以我一直都在付款，”她说。

总共，Alliana 转账了 15,120 美元，之后她就无法再通过 WhatsApp 联系到房产经纪人了。

“被骗并不代表我活该。”

Alliana 告诉 AsiaOne，她于 2025 年 6 月到警察局报案，但至今仍未得到她所希望的解决。

事后，艾莉安娜表示，她希望自己在付款前能够独立核实这些请求。

“我一直在问自己，‘这种事怎么会发生在我身上？我怎么会这么轻信别人？’更糟糕的是，我当时身处新加坡，一个我一直认为很安全的国家，”她说。

“但我逐渐意识到，被骗并不意味着我活该，也不意味着我愚蠢。我被我曾经信任的人欺骗了。”

她希望分享自己的经历能够鼓励其他人在安排租房时更加谨慎，尤其是在被要求在入住前转账时。

“我无法让时光倒流，也无法找回那段时期失去的平静。如果分享我的故事能够保护哪怕一个人免于经历同样的痛苦，那么至少这段痛苦的经历也能带来一些积极的影响，”她说。

租房诈骗和其他诈骗案件受害者损失超过560万美元

今年早些时候，有 255 名年龄在 16 岁至 77 岁之间的人因涉嫌参与 660 多起诈骗案件（包括租房诈骗）而接受调查，受害者损失约 560 万美元。

诈骗案件还包括电子商务诈骗、冒充朋友诈骗、求职诈骗、冒充政府官员诈骗和投资诈骗。

被捕者因涉嫌欺诈、洗钱和无证提供支付服务等各种罪行接受调查。

邢莹.koh@asiaone.com