M'sian woman, 23, loses S$2,500 to S'pore home rental scam, scammers threatened to set fire to M'sia home

A Malaysian woman, 23, recently fell prey to a Singapore home rental scam in which the scammers attempted to extort more money from her than what she had already lost by threatening to set fire to her home in Malaysia and accusing her of money laundering.

Initial S$1,250

According to Shin Min Daily News, the woman, Huang Xiaohan (transliteration), shared that she has been renting in Singapore ever since she started working here two years ago.

"My current lease expires in March, so I started looking for a new place in February," Huang said.

After coming across a Facebook post about a rental in Serangoon, Huang said she got in touch with a woman named Christina, who purported to be the landlady.

Christina then asked Huang for S$1,250 in deposit, telling her that the unit was popular, Sin Chew Daily reported.

As the rental was reasonable for its location, Huang rushed to secure the deal, despite not being provided with the address or unit number.

On Feb. 28, 2026, Huang transferred the S$1,250 deposit to Christina, and fixed a date to view the unit.

Next S$1,250

However, two days later, Christina claimed that there was another prospective tenant who was not only willing to pay the deposit, but also a month of rent.

"I was in a rush to rent a place, so I agreed to do the same and pay a month's rental. I managed to negotiate with Christina to first pay S$800, then the remaining S$450 after the viewing," Huang shared.

"We agreed to view the unit the day after, but Christina became uncontactable," she continued.

When Huang called the phone number associated with the PayNow account, a man answered.

According to Huang, the man claimed that Christina was his sister-in-law and had become uncontactable as she was busy caring for her sick child.

The man then asked Huang for the remaining S$450, and she sent it to him along with a copy of her work permit and other personal documents.

Accused of money laundering, asked to pay S$7,700

However, after Huang sent the money, the man claimed his intermediary bank account used to receive the money had been frozen, accusing Huang of "money laundering".

The man also claimed that there was S$7,700 in the bank account, which now could not be withdrawn.

He demanded that Huang pay back the amount, and even sent a lawyer's letter to her.

"I thought something was off, and decided to go to the police," Huang shared, adding that the Singapore police later told her the lawyer's letter was forged.

The police confirmed that a case was lodged and that investigations are ongoing, Shin Min reported.

Threatened to set fire to Malaysia home

Things continued to escalate, with Huang eventually receiving a letter accusing her of borrowing money from loan sharks.

The letter also included Huang's Malaysian address and identification documents, Shin Min reported.

"Once I got the letter, I went to the Malaysian police," Huang said.

That same evening, she got a phone call from someone purporting to be a "loan shark", asking Huang to cough up S$1,500.

"If not, they would set fire to my home," Huang recounted the call.

Avoiding online rental ads

"After this experience, I'm afraid of looking for rentals online. I'm going to rely on word of mouth from people I know, which is more reliable," she told Shin Min.

"I also wanted to use this opportunity to remind everyone to be wary of such scams," she added.

Huang also shared that she's not holding her breath on getting her money back, but hopes her family will remain safe.

Top image via Sin Chew Daily, Shin Min Daily News