Renter is asked to pay a deposit before inspecting a three-bedroom house only to find it was never on the market – as scammers take advantage of Sydney’s rental crisis
- Cihan Kenar confronted rental scammer
- Scammer advertised house that wasn’t on market
- They asked for deposit from Mr Kenar
A prospective renter has revealed how a scammer tried to make him pay a deposit for a rental property that wasn’t on the market.
Cihan Kenar, from Rosebery, in Sydney’s inner-south, has warned other renters after he almost fell for a scam while enquiring about a suspiciously cheap house up for rent in his area.
The three bedroom, free-standing property caught Mr Kenar’s eye when it was advertised for $400 a week – significantly lower than the current market.
But the price and response of the supposed landlord when Mr Kenar asked to come view the property immediately set alarm bells ringing.
Cihan Kenar, from Rosebery, in Sydney’s inner-south, has warned other renters after he almost fell for a scam while enquiring about a suspiciously cheap house up for rent in his area. A scammer had asked him to pay a deposit for a house that wasn’t listed
The stranger responded to Mr Kenar saying they’d been inundated with messages from other prospective tenants wanting to inspect the house.
‘If you can drop your information and make a refundable deposit to secure it now then once we meet tomorrow and the house doesn’t suit your money will be refunded immediately,’ the ‘landlord’ said.
Mr Kenar then clued into the scam and responded: ‘Are you f***ing serious?’
‘You bait me with a cheap rent and ask for a deposit?’ he continued – only to be blocked shortly after.
Mr Kenar posted the interaction to a Facebook group, where others revealed they too had similar interactions with the scammer.
One said they even drove out to the home and spoke to the owner who revealed it had never been advertised for rent and she had no plans on listing it.
‘(The scammer) was basically asking me to act quickly as to not lose such a great deal,’ Mr Kenar told Seven News.
‘If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.’
The ACCC claims that more renters are falling for the scams as rental prices have increased at historic rates (pictured is a rental property in Sydney)
According the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) more potential renters are falling for scams.
The amount of scams are increasing alongside the recent historic rises in rental prices.
Australians lost around $544,846 due to rental scams last year, an increase from 2021.
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