Beware of rental scam in Midrand
A Midrand resident lost out on R3500, which she paid as a deposit for an apartment she found online.
One week ago, Midrand Reporter featured a letter from a Midrand resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, about a rental scam she had been involved in. She paid a deposit for an apartment without viewing it first, only to lose out on the deposit and find out that the person who posted the advertisement online was not the real owner.
Since then two more women have come forward with very similar stories.
Just like with anonymous’ story, Ms Jasson found an advert online for an apartment to rent in a well-known Carlswald complex. She called the number on the advertisement and was told by the ‘owner’ that there were a lot of interested parties and if she wanted to secure the apartment she would need to pay the deposit as soon as possible. Ms Jasson said, “It was mid-month and I didn’t really have the money but I borrowed R3500 just to pay the deposit. I really wanted the apartment, I was so excited to move in.”
Ms Jasson then made a cash deposit into the so-called owner’s bank account.
After she had deposited the money she tried to call the ‘owner’ but received no response that day.
This alarmed Ms Jasson and she decided to visit the complex to speak to the ‘tenant’, who she had also been in telephonic contact with. On arrival at the complex she was told that the apartment number she was given did not exist and that the ‘owner’ was not on the list of homeowners for the complex.
Ms Jasson immediately went to the bank to try to reverse the deposit but it was too late. Ms Jasson said, “A person who robs people will look and sound professional – you will never suspect a thing until it’s too late.”
Midrand police spokesperson, Constable Matome Tlamela warned the Midrand community to be aware of the trend of rental scams in the area. She said, “Currently there’s a trend of cases that are open at the Midrand Police Station related to rental scams. In this case the suspect tries to get money from a prospective tenant for an apartment – that the scammer is in no legal position to rent. The community is advised not to let their guard down when looking for an apartment. Just because you are using a reputable website to search for an apartment does not mean that you cannot be scammed by unscrupulous landlords, or people posing as landlords who manage to get their listings online.The public is also advised to view the apartment before making any monetary transactions.”
