New Zealanders have supposedly been caught up in a most important international scam where fraudster go ahead and bid fake accommodation, and then they trick victims into sending across bond and rent cash.
The scammers concerned are targeting flat-finder websites from all over the globe, and once they have successfully recognized contact with their home-hunting victim via e-mail, they collect money from them and then steal their individual detail to go on and cheat the next victim.
Sometimes, the scammers go as far in advance as actually speaking with the victim over the phone.
Warnings of scam have been sounded that someone asking for money via a “Western Union” transfer was “would always be a scammer” and generally working from an overseas location.
Also people looking for a flat should never send out rental deposits earlier to seeing the flat.