PUBLISHED ONOctober 20, 2026 11:30 PMBYKoh Xing YingMore 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.
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.
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.
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.
[[nid:748014]]
