Daily London
They’re posting real pictures of real properties to lure their victims, but the prices are often too good to be true.
Finding a rental has never been this hard and WA Commissioner for Consumer Protection Trish Blake says it’s a “perfect playground for scammers”.
“[There’s ]a lot of grooming by these scammers,” she said.
“So they’ll tell you that they’re there to help the underdog and that you’re the perfect person, they can see that you’re a real battler, that you’re a good person and they want to help you out.”
Messages show how the scammers take advantage of the high demand for rentals.
“Due to the large number of people making offers for the apartment and which I can not attend to all.. my lawyer mandated a commitment fee to secure the apartment and filter out many people to secure it down for one person,” one message reads.
“You can have the space secured ahead of your move in date by paying a security deposit of the first week rent of $400.
“The deposit act more like a commitment fee which is fully refundable if upon physical visit you have a change of mind and it will be added to your first week rent if everything goes as planned.
“The deposit secure down the apartment for you and it will be reserved exclusively only for you.. I will stop taking offers for it and remove it from the Market.”
Blake warned renters not to hand over any money before they’d seen the property.
In 2025, at least 20 people reported a rental scam, losing $50,000, an increase of 27 per cent compared to the year before.
Median rental prices in Perth are at record highs.
It costs $700 per week for a house and $670 to rent a unit while properties are snatched up in just 16 days.
“People have pure desperation and people will do what they can for their family and think they’re doing the right thing and potentially dealing with unsavoury characters,” Real Estate Institute of Western Australia member Rob Mandanici said.
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