Posts Tagged ‘scam’

Advice from Gumtree.com and the National Union of Students on how to rent safely

If you’re moving into a new pad at university, make sure you rent safely and avoid potential scams during the September rental rush. With the combination of thousands of students facing the last-minute scramble for accommodation, and the rise in people looking for new homes in September, we’d like to warn all potential tenants to be vigilant.

Our security experts are offering advice highlighting potential ways in which scammers could operate.

moving-house

Property does not exist

Scammers may advertise luxury properties for rent, in very desirable locations – but for an unusually low rent. The ‘owner’ may claim they are unable to meet would-be tenants in person to show them the property, perhaps because they ‘live overseas’. They could then ask for a deposit using a money transfer service, and the would-be tenants may be unable to contact the advertiser and the property may not even exist.

Property is not owned by the ‘landlord’

It is possible for a scammer to gain access to a house illegally, when an owner is on holiday or away for a long period of time. They could then advertise it for rent and secure a deposit from tenants. In this scenario tenants who try to move in would find the home owners have returned – and the rental agreement revealed as a scam. The ‘landlord’ may have disappeared and the tenants would not be able to reclaim their deposit.

Fake escrow sites

A prospective ‘landlord’ could suggest using an escrow service to complete a rental transaction. Fake escrow websites often look official, but are run by fraudsters that could take deposit money and then close down shortly afterwards with no way to contact them again.

Top tips from Gumtree.com on how to avoid the scammers

  • View properties in person before paying any money. Even if they claim to be overseas, people who are not willing to show you their property or meet with you before accepting you as their tenant aren’t likely to be legitimate
  • For your own safety, always have someone with you
  • Ask lots of questions about the property and the area. Any genuine landlord or agent should know the answers and give them
  • For extra piece of mind you may want to consider only renting from a landlord or agent that is a member of a professional accreditation scheme (e.g. ARLA, NALs, NLA etc)
  • If dealing with a landlord directly, ask to see their proof of ownership for the property before handing over any money
  • Never provide your personal identity or banking information to others over the internet e.g. details or photocopies of your passport, driving licence or your credit card number. Only give this information to a landlord or agency once you’ve met them in person, viewed the property and decided to proceed with a rental arrangement. You should always view requests for personal information by someone you haven’t met with extreme caution
  • Use common sense. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is

Use Gumtree.com safely to rent a property and make sure you visit our safety advice for additional information.

Visit www.nus.org.uk for more information on how students can rent safely.

1 comment

22/9/11 at 3:46pm by The media team

Gumtree-rentals.com scam alert

scam-alert1There’s a website out there called www.gumtree-rentals.com. It all looks pretty legit and well designed and maybe worth using. But the reality is that some sneaky guys have lifted the design off the Gumtree website and this is in actual fact part of a much larger scam.

We got a message from a community member this weekend telling us of how they replied to a studio to rent ad and got an email reply trying to convince them to use the Gumtree-rentals website. This of course is a scam, don’t do it! Gumtree does not offer any such financial services, we are merely a classifieds website.

Once again, one of the biggest clues is the reluctance to meet face to face. The person who told us about the scam did well to email the scamster again and insist on seeing the property before parting with any hard earned cash which is a good idea to keep in mind: if you are not sure, email them again with a few more questions, especially more specific details about the property. If they are sketchy about the details, walk away and report it to us.

Here is the email received by our community member from the scamster:

Hi ****,
The address is: 9 Talbot Square, W2 1TR. You can go to google maps to see the actual location of the flat: www.maps.google.co.uk
About the viewing, I am really looking forward to meet you and to get to know you better before renting the flat to you, but before that I will need to be sure that you are committed to rent the flat and you can afford to pay for the rent. Please dont get me wrong and dont be offended, but I have been disappointed two times until now by people who convinced me to arrange a viewing,  and in the end proved themselves to be nothing but time wasters as they tried to convince me to lower the monthly rent. Every time I made the trip to London for nothing wasting both time and money. I will take care so that wont happen again.
Because of that I have decided to go on with this only through Gumtree. They have a program called Gumtree Rentals (www.gumtree-rentals.com). It was created especially for situations like ours, when is difficult to meet. They can take care about the viewing, and the payment, and they are offering assistance and protection for both, landlords and tenants.
If you decide to go on with renting the place I will need some information in order to set up the rental transaction with gumtree. Please let me know your  full name, how many people will move in, when are you planning to move in and how long do you want to stay. As soon as I will have this info I will forward it to gumtree and they will get back to you with all the necessary details to follow in order to arrange the viewing, sign the contract and rent the flat.
Kindly let me know if there is anything else you want to know about the flat.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon,
Elizabeth

289 comments

7/9/09 at 10:45am by Jon

Scam alert: World Pet Carriers

We’ve been alerted to the latest scam involving an ‘organisation’ called World Pet Carriers.

World Pet Carriers operates by putting up fake ads in the Pets section, claiming they’ve got a cute pet to sell. If you respond to their ads, they’ll tell you that as they’re in a different location, they’ll be using a delivery service called World Pet Carriers to send the animal to you. They’ve also been known to reply to ads offering their services.

If you’re contacted by anyone with an email address like worldpetcarriers@ymail.com or mentions ‘World Pet Carriers’ (website URL www.worldpetcarriers.com), please don’t respond to them. Also, if you come across any ads which relate to this scam, help us out by using the ‘Report this ad’ link found at the top right-hand corner of every ad.

Right now, we’re blocking all emails and ads that are coming from IP addresses that World Pet Carriers is using. In the meantime, always remember to follow our golden rules:

  • Trade face to face, wherever possible
  • Never send money using payment services Western Union, MoneyGram or BidPay

Stay safe, everyone.

44 comments

25/8/09 at 2:02pm by Jia Min

Scam me not!

scam-alertIt’s a tough internet world out there, and you’ve got to be on your game to spot a scam. Here’s a quick primer on some common scams that turn up all over the internet and sadly, even on Gumtree:

1. Bait and switch
This can happen face to face when you meet someone to buy something they’ve advertised, like a laptop. While you’re counting out your money for this incredible deal you’ve just found, an attractive girl materialises at your side asking if you have change for a fiver. Meanwhile, the primary scammer replaces the laptop you “bought” with a worthless old laptop, hands it over to you, and leaves. You don’t realise until later you’ve been had.

2. Amazingly low rent
People who do this may not have anything to do with the property they are “advertising”. They collect security deposits and first month’s rent from maybe a dozen people, and when it’s time for the “renters” to view the apartment, the scammer has disappeared with all that “rent” and “security deposit” money.

3. Pay delivery charge, or the cute puppy goes to the pound
They’ve moved, can’t keep the adorable Chow/Westie/Yorkie and will have to send him to the pound if they don’t find a new owner. If you’ll pony up a “delivery” or “escrow” payment up front, they won’t send him to the bad place. So you do it because you’re humane and have gotten rather attached to the little guy’s picture from the ad. Funny then that two or three weeks later, still puppy-less, you see the same ad with the same story and picture.

4. Surprising number of beautiful single women in the Personals section
They may exchange messages, and maybe even pictures with you. If you want to see her full profile however, you have to pay to do so at a website that preys on lonely souls willing to part with some money for the profile of a person they’ll never hear from again.

5. You knew it was a buyer’s market for automobiles, but wow!
Someone is advertising a used car for a ridiculously low price, and will lower it further if you pay cash. No problem. Until you meet up with this seller in a dodgy part of town, and follow him to look at the car, only instead of a car, you find a gang of street thugs who rob you at knifepoint or worse.

The best rules of thumb we can give you are:
•    If a deal seems unusually generous and your gut tells you something’s up, just walk away.
•    If you’re meeting up face-to-face to complete your deal, bring a friend and meet in a public place, preferably one with plenty of CCTV coverage.

372 comments

5/8/09 at 1:33pm by Vince - The consumer savvy guy

PayPal Scam Alert

paypal-scam-alert
In an effort to keep the community safe on Gumtree, we will update you with any new scamming methods we come across on the internet so that you are aware when dealing in a free market environment.

One popular scamming method currently being used is where the scammer offers to pay the amount via PayPal. When the amount comes through to the seller, it is £0.00. The scammer then states that PayPal is holding the funds until you send the goods to the buyer. You may even receive emails from PayPal that look real, but they are actually fakes. Please forward any suspicious emails to PayPal.

How to avoid this scam:

•    PayPal does not hold funds until an item is sent.
•    Beware of fake PayPal emails – always check with PayPal if you are unsure.
•    Always trade face to face when buying items on Gumtree.

Above all, go with your gut. If you don’t feel good about this transaction, just walk away.

1,203 comments

24/7/09 at 11:07am by Jon

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