Written Answer by Ministry of National Development on measures taken by the Council for Estate Agencies to educate the public on scammers impersonating as real estate agents

May 9, 2022

Mr Raj Joshua Thomas: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what measures has the Council for Estate Agencies taken to educate the public on scammers impersonating as real estate agents; and (b) what more can be done to protect members of the public from such scams.

Answer:

1          The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) has been working with government agencies and the real estate agency industry to inform and educate consumers on how to protect themselves against scams involving individuals impersonating property agents.

2          CEA has advised consumers to verify the identity of the property agents via the CEA Public Register before entering into any dealings with such individuals and not to pay to secure viewings. The industry and consumers should also file a police report if they believe that they have been victims of scams.

3          To further raise awareness of these safeguards and best practices, CEA partnered government agencies, such as the Housing Development Board (HDB) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF), and the five largest property agencies in Singapore (PropNex, URA, Huttons, Orange Tee & Tie and SRI) to disseminate the information via their respective social media and communication channels. CEA also shared the information with the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) and property portals (i.e. 99.co and PropertyGuru) which published related consumer education articles.

4          CEA collaborated with the SPF to feature rental scams on the current affairs programme, ‘Hello Singapore’, with the relevant episode aired on 13 April 2022. The episode featured messages on how consumers can protect themselves against scams. CEA will also be broadcasting these messages on HDB’s digital displays at lift landings around Singapore for one week in end May 2022.

5          CEA will continue to leverage these partnerships and channels to keep consumers abreast of any issues that may impact consumer interests.