27/12/2023
☠️ HOUSING SCAMS & DANGERS ☠️
BEWARE OF SOCIAL MEDIA SCAMS
BEWARE OF SOCIAL MEDIA SCAMS
BEWARE OF SOCIAL MEDIA SCAMS
It is extremely common to see scams on social media when it comes to real estate.Finding a place to be can be such a hassle that many are keen to believe a solution has been found as soon as a proposition is suggested.
Indeed we need to imagine this process as long and incertain, as if you were walking through a desert without water and someone suddenly told you they might have water, we'd all be interested to know more and believe said suggestion.
However, this is exactly how the scams operate, they're are some profiles out there that specialise in predating on people in need, here's some points to look for to assess if you're dealing or not with a scammer.
Clues to look for (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter...)
👉 When you're directly contacted by profiles/people :
- Does the person have a profile picture
- How long ago was the account created
- If you're familiar with local Naming Culture, does the person's name seem real or invented
- Is the profile photo sexually suggestive or has sensitive graphical elements (guns, violence, drugs, ...)
- Are their inviting you immediately to exchange by mail instead of direct phone call or at least person to person direct messaging to start with.
👉 When you're invited to reach out to profiles/people :
In these cases more often than not you'll be sending a message to auto-respond profiles. We need to understand that the reason these scams still exist continuously is because they work, because scammers have adopted a professional approach to their "craft".
👉 When you're talking with the person/landlord :
Its also a significant part of the landlords income, why would they want to interact with you only by text or mail without never calling you when you're planing to literally live in their home.
👉 Classic companies - Items to avoid :
- Common scam is named "BAILTI", basically an organised network of fake profiles manage by people and bots that promote a platform named "BAILTI". This platform is a trap, you'll be asked to provide your information to subscribe and ask to pay to interact with fake real estate ads.
👉 When you think all is going fine, last check-ups :
When you have found a flat that corresponds to what you're looking for and you think that all going well here are some last steps to consider.
Ask yourself, if anything was to go bad from now on, would you be able to find the person you're talking with easily?
How certain are you that you could cancel the situation if you changed your mind now?
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the most difficult), how easy was it to get what you wanted while not being an expert in this process? Anything below 5 should inspire you to think.
Lastly, knowing that in every case scam or not, you're dealing with people who do this everyday, while you do it twice a year, would you recommend people you care about to do the same.
Hope this was useful, feel free to let us know what happened to you and how could we make sure it doesn't happen again :)
Take care out there
