warnings
please read these important warnings
 
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we would like you to be aware of the following scams and fraud  

 

avoiding scams and fraud when using flatfinder

scams from china, nigeria, uk, and more

please don't ever send any money to people overseas.

also, be aware that if people overseas may try to send you stolen money.

there is a common scam which uses hacked bank accounts. generally they will send you funds, claim that they sent too much and ask you to use western union or wire transfer to send them back funds. your bank will then reverse the original transaction, leaving you out of pocket.

some of our users have received email requests to send money with western union to nigeria / china / UK etc, BEFORE being allowed to view a flat in new zealand. the scammer, usually from a yahoo.com or yahoo.co.uk address, then tries to convince the user that he is away for various reasons (claiming he is an evangelist or reverend, or is on work placement or working for a charity etc) and will DHL the keys to them on receipt of a deposit.

This is a complete scam. NOBODY ever requires payment of a deposit up front before allowing you to view their flat.

you can sidestep would-be scammers by following these common-sense rules:

1) DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON - follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of the scam attempts on the internet.

2) NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.

3) FAKE CASHIER CHECKS, TRAVELLERS CHEQUES & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.

4) NEVER GIVE OUT FINANCIAL INFORMATION (bank account number, social security number, ebay/paypal info, etc.)

5) AVOID DEALS INVOLVING SHIPPING OR ESCROW SERVICES (third parties that hold your funds before releasing to the scammer, these escrow services are usually run by the scammers themselves).

 

recognizing scams

most scams involve one or more of the following:

1) enquiry from someone far away, often in another country

2) western union, money gram, cashier's check, travellers cheques, money order, shipping, escrow service, or a "guarantee"

3) inability or refusal to meet face-to-face before consummating transaction

4) someone requests wire service payment via western union or moneygram

5) scam "bait" items include cheap apartment, laptops, plasma TVs, cell phones, tickets - but could be almost anything

6) often claim that an MTCN or confirmation code is needed before he can withdraw your money - this is FALSE, once you've wired money, it is GONE.

7) common countries currently include: nigeria, china, romania, united kingdom, ukraine, spain, italy, netherlands - but could be anywhere

8) apartment listing may be local, but landlord/owner is "travelling" or "relocating" and needs you to wire money to them abroad

9) deal often seems too good to be true, price is too low, rent is below market, etc. you may use google image search to search the provided photos. if the listing has photos with it, a quick tip is to use google image search, as generally scammers have sourced their photos from other ads on craigslist, uk, australia or nigeria. google image search will bring back any matching images allowing you to verify if the images have simply been lifted from another property ad overseas.

 

distant person offers to send you a money order, travellers cheques etc and then asks you to wire money back to them via money transfer:

* this is ALWAYS a scam, in our experience - the cashier's check or travellers cheque is FAKE

* sometimes accompanies an offer of merchandise, sometimes not

* scammer often asks for your name, address, etc for printing on the fake check

* The deal often seems too good to be true

if you suspect an ad is fraudulent, please contact us and forward us the link of the fraudulent ad and we will remove it.

- read examples of recent scams and learn to recognise them

learn to recognise the elements of fraud

please also read the following warnings and examples if you have placed an ad online, so that you are aware incase a fraudster tries to contact you.

new! click here to see the latest flatfinder scammer warning facebook tweets

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want to add a warning about a possible scammer? email us

 

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