Any international student knows how important it is to secure a place to stay. Unfortunately, fraudsters are aware of it too and do not shy away from capitalizing on it.
A report, published in The Guardian in 2018, detailed the
problems that international students faced. Affordable student housing does not
match the spike in the number of international students. These students, thus,
have to face exploitative, insecure, and sometimes, unlawful living arrangements.
Here are the top 4 things that you should know about housing
scams in Australia:
- Modus
operandi
The most common modus operandi is to post a
harmless looking advertisement on social media or a housing forum. The
advertisement will look pretty legitimate with photographs and address on it. The “Agent” or the “Landlord” will then
ask you to deposit money to book the property. However, they will ask you to
deposit the money in a non-Australian Bank. They may even ask you to mail a
cheque at an address outside of Australia.
However, once you do so, the keys to the
property would never arrive as the advertisement was fake. Many international
students fall prey to such scams and lose their money every year.
- Warning
signs
If
the rent is extremely cheap or if the Agent or Landlord does not let you
inspect the property; those are warning signs.
A common scam is when international
students move into a property and within days they are told that there is a
defect with the property. These students are then moved to a much inferior
property but with the same rent. Students are told to comply with the same or
lose their bond.
- What
can you do if you are suspicious?
Universities in Australia, like Melbourne
University, allows you to contact them if you are suspicious about housing
transactions. You should bring all your documents for the interaction. This should include screenshots of any
communication or negotiations that happened online.
- What
can you do if you are scammed?
If you do fall prey to a scam, immediately inform the Police or your
University. You should also alert your friends and social circle. You may
not be able to get your money back but you can save another student from
falling prey.
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