Fake apartment listings: how to expose fraudsters
Too good to be true: fake apartment listings are not uncommon on real estate portals. Use our tips to protect yourself from scams when searching for an apartment.
30.03.2023
iStock/mapo
1. How do I recognise fake apartment listings?
Fake apartment listings often sound tempting: a 3.5-room apartment with 90 square metres in Zug for 1000 francs per month; a 2.5 room apartment in a new build with 65 square metres in Zurich Seefeld for 900 francs per month, and so on.
Fraudsters are getting cleverer and cleverer. They create ever more realistic-looking listings. Fake properties often come from old apartment listings and their pictures. You can also see the contact details of the fraudsters.
Indications of fake apartment listings
Fake listings on real estate portals are not always easily identifiable. The following indications may point towards a listing being fake:
the rent doesn’t correspond to the usual market price in the area.
the description for the apartment doesn’t contain any details.
there’s no clear move-in date.
the landlord requires a prepayment for the apartment application.
the text and the images contradict each other.
Tip: pay attention to details such as power sockets in the pictures. This way you can see whether the photo actually comes from Switzerland.
A real example of a fraudulent listing
Source: Comparis.
In the example above, you can see an apartment listing that was on Comparis. At first glance, it looks deceptively real. But a closer look reveals: a 3.5 room apartment in Zurich’s district 3 for 810 francs is very unrealistic. Comparis removed this fake offer from the platform.
How does Comparis deal with real estate fraudsters?
We check apartment listings regularly. If we suspect fraud, we immediately delete the listing. Users support us in detecting fake apartment listings. You can easily report incorrect apartment listings on Comparis.
2. What does a typical apartment rental scam look like?
In most cases it’s usually a deposit scam. The scam usually goes like this:
Set up contact details: in order to be able to place these listings, the scammers need Swiss mobile numbers and bank account details. This is usually done through a third party.
Steal photos: the photos often only show views from inside. The scammers use photos of existing apartment advertisements or apartments abroad.
Open a listing: the scammers often publish the fake listings at the weekend. This allows them to evade the property portal’s safety checks. Fraudulent listings will only be noticed on Monday.
Find an excuse: after contacting them, the alleged advertisers claim that they are currently abroad. They offer to send the keys so you can inspect the apartment by post. For their safety, however, they demand a deposit worth several months of rent.
Cash in the deposit: If the viewers don’t like the apartment, they can return the key and their deposit will be refunded to them – at least according to the agreement. In reality, however, the fraudsters keep the “deposit” and the victims wait for the key in vain.
Beware of home visits via booking.com
Has the landlord asked that you book an apartment viewing via booking.com? This is a cause for concern: the reason being that booking.com doesn’t actually offer this service at all.
Here you can see a real scam email with fake booking.com links:
Source: Comparis.
The scammers know how well-known booking.com is and send faked emails using their name. The “booking agents” then require an advance payment of the rental deposit. If you pay, the scammers will then cut contact and you’ve lost your money.
Keep in mind: a similar scam also exists with other booking portals such as Airbnb.
3. I have been a victim of apartment fraud – what can I do?
Contact the police directly and file a report. Important: save your email history and show it to the police. Did you make any payments? Have the corresponding bank statements ready.
This article was first published on 27.06.2017
