Finding a new place to rent can be a stressful ordeal—especially in the current economic atmosphere.

The search for an affordable and comfortable home is fraught with dozens of property viewings and applications, and even when you think you've landed the perfect spot, that relief can quickly turn into a costly nightmare.

Case in point: A Queensland couple found themselves victims of a sophisticated scam, losing over $5000.

Sam and Georgia Thomson were on the hunt for a new rental property on the Gold Coast just before the festive season.

After numerous inspections and applications, they finally found a townhouse that seemed perfect for their family.

Sam and Georgia Thomson were taken advantage of by a scammer in a sophistical rental scam. Credit: Freepik

'It seemed to be going well, we loved the house, we put the application in,' Sam recalled.

A few days later, they followed up with the property manager via email.

She responded, stating that she hadn't heard back from the owner, who was reportedly suffering from COVID-19.

An hour and a half later, another email arrived on the same thread. The owner had accepted their application but required a bond of $4200 to secure the property.

Then came another email.

‘Before we can continue with the lease, I do need a $700 letting fee and a $700 caution fee, which I didn't feel great about, but we needed a house, we've got 12 days left in this property,’ Sam added.

However, after making the full payment, which was $5600, they were met with silence.

When Sam called the property manager, she was clueless about the situation.

'I freaked out, I only spoke to her for only about three minutes, I just felt like everything is falling apart,' he said.

It quickly dawned on them that they had fallen prey to scammers who had intercepted the email chain.

‘We're now $5600 down. We found out we don't have the house that we thought we have, and we have 12 days to move,’ he said.

The Thomsons' story is not an isolated incident.

In a similar story, a couple who had spent 10 years saving to buy a property was conned by a real estate agent into paying over $270,000 for their new dream home—a dream that never turned into reality. You can read what happens next here.

It has been reported that Australians lost more than $429 million to scammers last year. However, this figure could be higher as victims tend not to report scams due to embarrassment or fear.

This alarming figure underscores the need for renters to be extra cautious when dealing with property transactions.

Antonia Mercorella, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, advises renters to always call the real estate agent to confirm the email and bank details.

'Perhaps, where possible, go in, in person to pay the money to the real estate agent,' she suggested.

'Certainly in the case of the upfront bond.'

Key Takeaways

• A couple lost over $5000 to scammers during a rental property search on the Gold Coast.
• The scammers intercepted the email chain with the property manager, requesting additional funds as a bond and letting and caution fees.
• The couple realised they were scammed when the property manager was unaware of the payments they thought they had made.
• The Real Estate Institute of Queensland advises double-checking with agents directly and, if possible, making payments in person to avoid such scams.

Members, if you or someone else was scammed, call 000 and notify your bank immediately. You can also report the scam to Scamwatch here.

You can also head over to our Scam Watch forum to stay updated with the latest tricks scammers use to deceive people out of their money and sensitive details.

Have you or someone you know ever encountered a rental scam? Share your experiences and tips in the comments below to help others stay safe.

 

[Col@45]

This sort of thing has got out of hand....innocent people getting duped out of their money by these horrible low-life scammers. When will it ever stop or will it get worse! People should now treat everyone as suspicious....whether it's Real Estate or buying goods....RING the right person concerned and not talk to anyone by Email or Text !! Only way to stop these scumbags.

 

[David567]

Treat everything as a scam. Check links in web sites such as contact, site map etc. On scam web sites non of these links work.
Don't use links in social media. They are sure to be scammers.

 

[Jarred Santos]

This sort of thing has got out of hand....innocent people getting duped out of their money by these horrible low-life scammers. When will it ever stop or will it get worse! People should now treat everyone as suspicious....whether it's Real Estate or buying goods....RING the right person concerned and not talk to anyone by Email or Text !! Only way to stop these scumbags.

Sad, but truly necessary! You never know these days...

 

[Staffordshire Whippet]

Anything done on-line has major scam potential.
Do your business face to face in a really-oh, truly-oh, business office; preferably paying cash.
If it doesn't look legit, leg it!

 

[Gsr]

My sister noticed a house for rent on her local website, contacted the site, was told it was hers if she paid $2000 for bond and 2 weeks rent that day. She became suspicious, contacted a friend who told her an old man lived in the house. the friend went and saw the man, he told her he wondered why so many people were stopping in front of his house and looking at it that day. They reported it to the police who were going to see if they could find out who had advertised the house. This was in a small country area that only has about 20 houses in it. Scammers are everywhere.