Online scammers target new Gold Coast family, taking $1400 in bond for fake Southport home
A YOUNG family looking for a fresh start on the Gold Coast has been left homeless after heartless scammers took them for some of their last cash.
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A YOUNG family looking for a fresh start on the Gold Coast has been left homeless after heartless scammers took them for some of their last cash.
The online scam robbed them of $1400 in bond money and has left them questioning where they are going to live in the coming weeks.
Heath Ewart and his partner Sarah Kirkland moved to the Gold Coast eight weeks ago with their toddler and newborn after a break-in at their home in Melbourne.
The family has been living in a room at a Mermaid Beach hotel as they desperately try to find a suitable home.
A Gold Coast rental vacancy rate of just 1.1 per cent has hampered the family and desperate for anywhere to live the couple turned to online classifieds site Gumtree.
A woman contacted them via the site and offered a property in Melbourne.
The same woman, after realising they were looking on the Gold Coast, put them in touch with a friend who, using the pseudonym ‘Mary’, claimed to have a home available to rent in Southport.
The couple were then sent photos of a property said to be in Lloyd St and told a key could be couriered to them on Friday if they paid a $1400 bond to the woman’s lawyer.
The ‘landlord’ told them via email that the family could not be view the property as she was in Perth.
Determined to get out of the hotel, Mr Ewart paid the money.
“If I had a bit more time I may have looked into it more but I was that desperate,” Mr Ewart said.
“I just wanted to make the right decision for my family.”
The Gold Coast Bulletin conducted a reverse image search on the photos provided to Mr Ewart and found the pictures were actually from a property in St Kilda, Melbourne which was posted on realestate.com.au by McGrath real estate. Neither the owners of the property or their agents are believed to have any involvement in or knowledge of the scam.
A search of each state’s law society found there was no solicitor matching the name of Mary’s purported solicitor registered anywhere in Australia.
Mr Ewart said yesterday that three days after handing over the money he had still not been able to contact ‘Mary’.
He was also unable to stop the bank transfer as the money had already been processed by his bank.
‘Mary’ had also sent the couple a photograph of a driver’s licence and of a blonde woman in the licence as proof of identity.
There are a number of social media accounts for that woman, all using the same picture.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission acting chair Delia Rickard said it sounded like Mr Ewart had lost his money.
“We have seen online rental scams for years,” she said.
“We have had a number of complaints about scams on Gumtree.”
Ms Rickard said it was difficult to recover money in these scams as people often used fake names and operated from overseas.
She said those which used Australian bank accounts set up the account so the money would be transferred out of it as soon as it hit the account.
Ms Rickard said there were some things those looking to rent should look out for.
“Never hand over any money without seeing the property,” she said.
Ms Rickard said scammers often used the excuse they were overseas or out of town to explain why the property was not available for viewing.
She also suggested people do reverse image searches online to help ensure the property was legitimate.
REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said online rental scams had not been as prevalent in Queensland in recent months, and this was the first she such scam she had heard of in about a year.
“There is always a chance it can happen,” she said.
A Gumtree spokesman said payment scammers did sometimes target the site.
“A transaction should always be made face-to-face, with an on-site payment made once the property has been seen,” he said.
“Our community should always avoid paying bond or rent for a property before it has been viewed.”
He said people should always check the real estate or landlord is real before making payment.
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