SINGAPORE: A man who saw a Facebook post about a woman duped in a rental scam decided to carry out a similar ruse as he was facing financial difficulties at the time.
In 2023 and 2024, Lee Wei Jie, 27, cheated five people of over $6,000 in total after claiming that a room in his home was available for rent though he had no intention to lease it.
Each victim was cheated of between $400 and $2,200.
Separately, he also shared details linked to his bank account with an unknown Telegram user after he was promised regular payments of $300 for doing so.
Even though he did not receive the reward, more than $18,000 went through the account in March 2022.
On Sept 26, Lee pleaded guilty to five counts of cheating and two charges involving the misuse of computer systems.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Shi Yun told the court that Lee decided to carry out a rental scam after he came across a Facebook post on a similar ruse in late March 2023. He sent private messages to the members of a Facebook group who were looking for places to rent.
On April 14, 2023, one of the victims viewed the room that was purportedly available for rent, and she later transferred $550 for “rental deposit” to Lee’s bank account. The pair then agreed that she could move in a week later.
But a day before the move-in date, Lee told the woman she could move in only on May 1.
When the day arrived, Lee told her that he no longer wanted to rent out the room and promised to refund her the $550.
The court heard that he did not return the amount to her, and went on to cheat four more victims by using a similar method.
In an unrelated case, an unknown Telegram user told Lee in 2021 that he would be given regular payments of $300 in exchange for details linked to his bank account.
The authorities later froze the account after it was found to be linked to multiple police reports involving at least $15,000 in scam proceeds.
By then, most of the monies had been transferred out and only 29 cents remained.
In 2022, an unknown Telegram user offered Lee $1,000 to use his Singpass account for a week. He accepted the offer but did not receive the money.
Instead, Lee’s details were used to open another bank account without his knowledge, and it was later found to be linked to at least $2,800 in scam proceeds.
Lee’s mitigation and sentencing are expected to take place on Nov 26.
For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined. - The Straits Times/ANN
