Rental scam: Hopeful tenant distraught after losing bond, rent in scam involving Geelong house
A man paid six weeks’ rent to a scammer after signing a fake lease for a Norlane property through Gumtree. It’s prompted warnings on how to spot a rental scam.
A young man has lost $1600 through a rent ad placed on Gumtree, prompting warnings about how to spot a rental scam.
Harcourts, North Geelong director Helena Fantela said the victim signed a fake lease and transferred $1600 to the scammers for the bond and two weeks’ rent for a Norlane property he had earlier inspected through the real estate agency.
Ms Fantela said the victim was distraught when he tried to collect the keys to the two-bedroom Wendover Ave house at Harcourts’ North Geelong agency.
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Harcourts had let the house to another tenant.
“He had an ad on Gumtree that he was looking for a bedroom in Norlane or Corio,” Ms Fantela said.
“He had applied for the properties with us and was not approved, and then someone contacted him and said, listen I’ve got a property in Norlane and he gave the address of a property he had seen,” she said.
“As he had already been through it, they said I’ll prepare a lease and you pay me directly the bond and the rent and you go and pick the keys up at Harcourts.
“He was clearly distraught. He was expecting keys and he’d arranged removalists, it was just terrible.”
Ms Fantela said the victim, who showed the bank transfers and fake lease, had missed warning signs that it was a scam.
“They could have said to him we’ve got a property at Wendover Ave and he might have said ‘oh, I’ve already applied for that’.
“Otherwise you would need to fill out an application form, you would get a call from our agency confirming it and you would get an email confirming all the details and you would receive an Adobe-sign lease. It’s all very formal.”
Ms Fantela said the agency advised the victim to go to the police. They were helping him find accommodation, she said.
Consumer Affairs Victoria has received 24 reports of rental scams in the past 12 months, a spokesperson said.
Scammers advertise rental properties on well-known property websites or contact individuals looking for a room to rent, she said.
These scammers often claim to be overseas or interstate and request that money be transferred online.
LINK: CONSUMER AFFAIRS VICTORIA: HOW TO SPOT A RENTAL SCAM
In other cases scammers may show a potential tenant through a property they have no right to rent out.
Potential tenants can protect themselves from rental scams by:
VERIFYING the identity of the person they are dealing with by contacting the agency they claim to work for.
AVOID paying via money transfer or making a payment directly into a bank account where possible.
CONDUCTING an internet search with images from the advertising, to check the photos have not been copied from another site.
“Anyone who believes they have fallen for a rental scam should contact their bank or financial institution immediately,” the spokesperson said.
People should report any potential rental scams to Consumer Affairs Victoria, which relies on this intelligence to educate other Victorians.
Originally published as Rental scam: Hopeful tenant distraught after losing bond, rent in scam involving Geelong house