ACCOMMODATION scams have been intermittent over the last year but January and February is usually a period when con artists try hard to get students and people desperate for new accommodation in Durban to part with hard earned cash warned Berea police.
Berea police spokesman, Lieutenant PN Naidoo said people were paying for accommodation and depositing money before realising they were scammed.
A Glenwood resident contacted Berea Mail as she believed too many people were being unnecessarily duped. “I was a “victim” as my accommodation was used in a scam, but the real victims are those looking for accommodation and paying deposits up front without actually seeing the accommodation,” she said.
The woman who owns and rents a flat was contacted by a “real victim” last week who believed she had paid a deposit for accommodation at her flata dn told her that her flat was on the market for rent. “I had placed an ad on Gumtree and my details and the flat details were on it so someone had used this to scam others.”
She believes that the scam is run from community advertisement boards from local supermarkets. “After receiving a call from the victim of the scam she told me that she found the ad at a Glenwood supermarket community notice board. It was a general ad, offering accommodation but not mentioning specific flats or rooms. I believe the scam artist take ads from Gumtree and they use these as reference to scam the person looking for accommodation,” she said.
The flat owner was aware of students desperate for accommodation especially in this period who pay up front without seeing the accommodation and wishes to warm them to be careful and not make deposits before seeing the place because once money is paid, the scam artist disappears.
“I did approach the supermarket to advise them of the scam and the ad was removed. However I do believe that retailers should ensure that where community ads are placed – ID documents and utility bills are used as proof of action. This should be part of their corporate governs policy,” she said.
Naidoo advised the public to verify that an advert is legitimate before depositing money into any account as once the deposit is made the person disappears and cannot be traced.
