Monash university students left devastated after falling victim to alleged rental scammer Samantha Khat

A group of university students looking for housing say they are “shattered” after being conned out of thousands of dollars by an alleged rental scammer.

A woman by the name of Samantha Khat — the same name as the woman pictured who was convicted of a rental scam in 2022 — has been accused conning international students. Picture: Facebook

University students looking for housing say they’ve been conned out of thousands of dollars, allegedly by a serial rental scammer.

Abu Sualeh Dhillon, a 22-year-old international student from Pakistan at Monash University, said he and his three friends were “on a mission” to find a new share house to rent.

“It was supposed to be a routine process, a group of international students excited to secure housing and settle into their studies in Australia,” he said.

With the rental crisis and a challenging market, the foursome turned to Facebook Marketplace where they discovered a listing posted by an account name ‘Royal Chico’.

They met up with a woman who showed them a passport by the name of Samantha Khat, and handed over $2400 in cash as a bond.

The students say the woman then allegedly disappeared, switching off her phones and never lodging the bond money.

Despite the efforts of authorities, the uni students have only recovered $1000 so far.

Samantha Khat, who also goes by the alias Soraya, is the same name as a woman who was caught fleecing thousands of dollars from would-be Casey renters in 2019.

She also has the same date of birth.

Samantha Khat is the same name as that of a woman who scammed Casey residents in 2019. Picture: Facebook

That Khat showed potential tenants through homes and took deposits and a month’s rent, before changing the locks and disappearing with their money.

A Victoria Police spokeswomanat the time said detectives had charged Khat with obtaining property by deception for an online marketplace rental scams in 2019.

“The 28-year-old woman allegedly placed an advertisement for a rental property on Leopold Crescent in Hampton Park and took deposits and a months rent in advance from several prospective renters,” the spokeswoman said in 2019.

The court matter and charges were finalised in 2022 and Khat was convicted, handed a community corrections order and fined $500.

The students received this screenshot suggesting the bond had been returned to them however they said they did not receive it. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Dhillon said the most recent alleged scam had left the students financially and emotionally strained, affecting their studies and mental health.

“I had huge expectations from Australia … going to a great university, and then this happens — it shatters you,” he said.

“We are paying more than $45,000 a year in tuition — we come from countries like India and Pakistan, where $1 is equal to 55 rupees in India and in Pakistan it is about 186 rupees.”

The median gross annual income of people in India and Pakistan is less than $6000.

Monash University’s student Abu Sualeh Dhillon says he has lost trust in the system after getting scammed. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Dhillon said getting scammed left all the students “broke” and with no money to sign a lease for another property.

Dinesh Weerakkody, an Australian immigration lawyer who has dealt with international students falling victim to rental scams, said scammers had progressively become more sophisticated.

He said the biggest cohort scammers targeted were international students who were culturally and linguistically diverse.

“The two major communities that often fall victim to rental scams were Chinese and Indian students,” he said.

Australian immigration lawyer Dinesh Weerakkody. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Weerakkody said rental scammers often targeted students before they arrived in Australia, taking advantage of their desperation to find a home and lack of knowledge of how the system worked.

“The scammers … can produce and provide actual forms from authorities that pass as legitimate and get students to fill in details,” he said.

A Meta spokeswoman said the social media giant did not want people to be conned on any of its platforms and was investing in tools and technology to prevent Facebook Marketplace scams.

“The safety of our users is of utmost importance, and we continue to work with industry, the government and law enforcement to protect Australians from scams,” she said.

“We also encourage people to use our in-app reporting tools when they see any suspicious activity.”

A Consumer Affairs Victoria spokeswoman said the agency took rental bond breaches “very seriously”.

“Scammers can prey on prospective renters as a quick way to make money. Where possible, we encourage people to verify the identity of the person they are dealing with to make sure they are a genuine rental provider,” she said.

“We encourage any Victorian who believes they have been caught up in a rental scam to contact us.”

Victoria Police has been contacted regarding the latest alleged scam.

Samantha Khat was contacted for comment but did not respond.