Realtor's identity used in property scams

KUALA LUMPUR: A real estate agent is irked that his identity had been used to scam property owners in the city and Selangor area.
Lim Kim Chuan (pix), 35, was shocked to learn that two bogus business cards of him were being circulated in a Whatsapp group after a friend alerted him to the matter.
"On June 20, I was informed by a friend that my photo had been used with fake names to scam owners into paying commission for properties that are rented out," he said during a press conference at Wisma MCA today.
"I was named as 'Jimmy Hor' from GS Realty Sdn Bhd and 'Andrew Hoe' from Oriental Realty," he added.
Lim lodged a police report on June 23 at Travers police station.
He added that this was not the first time his identity was stolen by the perpetrators.
"On June 6, I received a call from a property agency, Starcity Property Sdn Bhd, claiming I had cheated a property owner using the name 'Danny Ong'," he said, adding that a similar incident happened in 2014.
Lim said he heard that that an elderly man would pose as an agent to scam property owners.
"The elderly would claim that his 'son' had fallen ill and he is acting on his behalf," he said.
MCA Public Service and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said the conman usually carried out the scam on a Friday.
"He would call a property owner and inform him that he has a potential tenant for him," Chong said.
The conman will then meet the owner and work out the details, including the agency fees payable.
"As the fee may be high, he will offer a discount and ask that the money be deposited into his account. He will then issue a cheque for the amount stated in the tenancy agreement. All this is done on a Friday so that by the time the property owner realises the cheque has bounced, it is too late," Chong said.
Chong urged property owners to be aware of such scams and to check details of any agent thoroughly before parting with any cash.