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A young woman was left furious after a potential landlord asked her to pay cash to inspect his property.
The woman had been looking everywhere for a house and finally found one she liked on Facebook.
The landlord was handling the lease privately, so the woman messaged him using the details from the ad.
But he was shocked when he was asked to pay $200 to “reserve” a spot to inspect the property.
A woman has narrowly avoided being scammed after asking to see an apartment she saw advertised on Facebook
The owner explained that if the young woman really wanted to rent her apartment, she would pay the money up front.
‘If you take the money now and I don’t like the apartment, what happens?’ she asked.
The owner said the fee is refundable and everything you need to know is included in the application form he submitted.
“I have a lot of people interested in the apartment ready to make reservations. I’m trying to find out if they are ready to not rent it to someone else,” he wrote.
The woman said she doesn’t care if someone sees the place before her, she likes it and rents it.
“I won’t pay any money to reserve it,” he said.
The would-be owner then blocked the woman after thanking her for her time.
She posted their exchange on Facebook and was inundated with comments about the scam.
“This is a scam that has been going on for some time,” one woman said.
Another said: “I’m glad you didn’t pay, there’s no apartment.”
Rental properties are becoming harder to come by, with dozens of people showing up to open houses hoping to secure properties.
“100 percent a scam, stop interacting with them immediately and do not provide any personal details or money to this person,” said a third.
Others said they had previously been asked to pay a $50 key fee.
Scam Watch – which is run by the Australian government – first warned of similar scams in 2020.
“The scammer will post ads on real estate or classifieds websites or target people who have posted on social media that they are looking for a room,” the statement warns.
“After the victim responds, the scammer will request an upfront deposit to secure the property or phish for personal information through a ‘tenant request form,’ promising to provide keys after payment is provided or information”.
“The scammer may find excuses to make further payments and the victim often only realizes they have been scammed when the keys do not arrive and the scammer cuts off contact.”
The loss of personal information through rental scams is becoming common, as scammers often receive copies of key identity documents.
“Once a scammer obtains your personal information, you risk being the target of further scams or identity theft.”
Large crowds have been recorded at recent home and unit inspections in major cities, making it easier for scammers to negotiate the market.