Fake property agents target international students, MCA sounds alarm

The Star

Foreign students, particularly from China, continue to fall prey to scammers offering fake home rentals in the Klang Valley.   A real estate agent whose identity was stolen held a press conference on Monday (Nov 24), organised by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong, to expose the scam.   Chong warned that many more may have been targeted and urged victims to come forward and file police reports.   Read more at https://tinyurl.com/5cf7cpyy   WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news  SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar  LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00A scam syndicate allegedly rented an Airbnb unit and impersonated a legitimate property agent,

00:10cheating three Chinese students out of over 6,800 ringgit in deposits.

00:15Chia Chin Ken, 28, a real estate agent whose identity was misused,

00:20held a press conference on Monday with his principal, Leslie Lau,

00:24organized by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department Head, Datuk Sri Michael Chong.

00:54Chia Chin, 28, a real estate agent,

01:24and the phone number is added to the phone number.

01:26And the link card is not my phone number.

01:30And the IC and the company name is not correct.

01:32The phone number is actually opened a touch and go QR code.

01:38And the send it to the booking.

01:44The QR code is the real estate agent.

01:47The real estate agent is Gorirang and Property.

01:50The simple name is N.

01:52After receiving the payment, the agent would disappear.

02:04Chong said three Chinese students who lost between 800 and 6,000 ringgit

02:08sought help from his department last week.

02:22The victims only discovered the fraud when they tried to move in

02:37and contacted the legitimate agency.

02:40Both Lau and a real estate negotiator have also filed police reports.

02:44The department's legal advisor, James E., urged foreign students

02:49to verify property agents' credentials and tenancy agreements

02:52and to transact directly with agencies rather than wiring payments.

02:58You see so many fictitious information.

03:00We don't know which one is real, which one is fake.

03:02I also cannot ascertain which one is true.

03:06So we have to go back to the conventional, traditional method.

03:08The safest way, go back to this office, physically go and check these property agents,

03:19this office, whether we have this house, up for rent or not.

03:23That is the only way moving forward.

03:25We don't have a choice.

03:27Chong also noted ten similar cases last month,

03:30highlighting the prevalence of scams targeting international students.

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