Rent this three bedroom waterfront property on the river.
Must rent quickly as I am currently overseas.
Hang on! This could be a scam.
Welcome to my school. Stevie's Scam School.
Yeah, great.
Hello. My name is Stevie, the reformed scam artist,
and I'm here to teach you how to avoid being scammed.
Let's have a look at our scam of the day. Today, we'll be covering what I call...
The Rental Scam.
Looking for a new place to live?
Better watch this first. It works like this, see.
I'd place a fake ad online for a rental property, making it seem real genuine by using real houses.
I'd pinch all the details and photos from another site.
Only thing I'd change is the contact details. Instead of getting the real owner, you'd get me.
Too easy!
When I received an email from someone interested in the property, I'd shoot one back with a rental agreement.
The place is yours, I'd say.
They'd get all excited, thinking they'd found their new dream home.
But little did they know, the place wasn't mine to rent.
The whole agreement was faker than me pearly whites.
If they ever asked me to inspect the property, I'd just tell them I was currently interstate or overseas.
You'd have to be bananas not to look at a property before you paid a bond and rent for it.
Next thing, they've sent over their bank details, credit card details and photo ID.
It was a booming scammer market! But here's where I'd really cash in.
I'd ask for an up-front payment to secure the house, usually one month's rent and bond.
I'd disappear in a cloud of smoke off with their money and all their banking details.
If you're looking to rent, always inspect the property first.
And if you can't, ask someone you trust to go and see the property for you.
And if you're paying a bond for a Victorian property,
my advice is to pay via money order or bank cheque to the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority
never with an online money transfer!
Don't worry, with my knowledge, you'll be as safe as ah, houses.
Stevie's Scam School. Yeah! Nice!