Criminals are using fake rental listings to trick prospective tenants into handing over money and personal details, according to Cape Town-based social housing provider Communicare.
The scammers promote properties on social media, posing as representatives of Communicare. They use fake online profiles and post pictures of Communicare rental accommodation to entice prospective tenants.
They ask applicants to pay application fees or deposits before viewing the rental units – and then disappear once the money has been paid.
Communicare says the scammers are very professional. Apart from fake profiles, they also create their own application forms and request copies of identity documents and bank statements for three months. They also request authorisation to conduct credit checks on their targets.
Communicare has reported several cases to the SA Police Service for further investigation. The organisation is working with SAPS to ensure those responsible for abusing innocent people seeking affordable housing are brought to book.
Social housing units seem to be the main targets of these scammers. As rents and inflation rise across South Africa, more and more low-income tenants could become desperate to find affordable properties, making them more vulnerable. The latest PayProp Rental Index found that the poorest 10% of tenants cannot afford their rent and debt repayments - even before the cost of other essentials.
Private rentals
It's not only organisational housing that scammers are targeting. Private rentals are not immune to the problem, and industry experts have repeatedly warned of various scams in the residential rental sector.
“More and more landlords are being tricked, and not just because of insufficient tenant vetting. Criminals are smarter and more creative than ever before and can be extremely convincing,” says Jacqui Savage, national rentals manager for Rawson Property Group.
This is yet another good reason for landlords to appoint a reputable rental agency to manage their investment properties.
Remedy
The online environment is full of fake news and information, and it is often difficult to tell what is real and what is not. To ensure that no one is using your rental listings without authorisation, you can help keep the residential rental sector safer by regularly running reverse image searches on them.
You should also make it clear when speaking to prospective tenants that reputable agencies do not require a pre-application fee and don’t charge for viewings.
Reverse image searches enable you to find the most similar pictures over the internet. You can search by image, keyword, or by the URL of the picture to find photos, memes, profile pictures, and wallpapers along with their sources.
To do a reverse search with an image URL, follow these steps:
- Go to the website with the picture you want to use.
- Right-click on the picture to copy the URL of the image.
- Click "Copy image address"
- Go to Google Images
- Click "Search by image"
- Paste the image URL in the text box.
If you find that the image you are checking belongs to a fake account, report the matter to the SAPS fraud department.
Writer: Sarah-Jane Meyer