Shop owners looking to rent out their premises are urged to be more aware and cautious of scams.

The MCA's Public Services and Complaints Department has received more than 20 complaints of false tenancy scams this year causing losses amounting to 300 thousand ringgit.

In many of these cases, the victims were approached by a real estate agent claiming to be working with a real estate agency.

The agent would claim he has a potential tenant named Lim Bee Bee looking to rent their premise for a private business.

After the victims agreed to rent out their premises, Lim would issue a cheque as a deposit while asking the shop owner to also issue a cheque for his commission.

According to the victims, they never met the agent personally and all documents were given to the agent's assistant named Elaine.

When the victims contacted Lim's so-called real estate agency to enquire about the tenancy agreement, they were told that no such person is working in the agency.

Datuk Michael Chong did not rule out the possibility of more victims that have fallen for the same scam, and urged them to lodge a police report immediately.