TRANSCRIPT
In Tasmania, Cody Fillipono and his partner have been on a relentless search for a place to call home.
"We have been desperately searching for a rental to branch out into our own space for the past year and a half. And then after countless inspections, countless applications, constant denial, we saw a place on Facebook Marketplace that was also listed on realestate.com through a local agency, and within 20-minutes of messaging this homeowner, supposedly, to see whether the home was still available and where we apply. We had a response within 20-minutes which was completely different from any other agency or owner that we've chatted to previously. So, we jumped on it because we hadn't had a response that quickly before."
They did not know it, but they were being scammed.
"It was exactly the same description, exactly the same photos that had the watermark in the photos from the agency. He requested documentation that would normally be requested for a rental. He even did up an application form that looked fairly similar to other ones I filled out before. So, I guess in the desperation of it, we were kind of oblivious to some red flags."
The scammer approved the couple's rental application, and they paid a deposit.
"So, at first they requested the bond payment, which was, I believe, a total of $1,840, which we had sent through to their bank account on the Saturday. And then the following day they had requested the additional two weeks rent, which was an equivalent of $940.
Then came the first red flag.
"It was on the Sunday night after we had sent the additional two weeks rent to that account, that morning. And then we received the message at about five o'clock I would say, from that person, asking for an additional two weeks rent as the homeowner wanted four weeks rent rather than the standard two weeks. That's when we sort of started to realise that it could have been a scam."
As soon as the couple were asked for more money, Mr Fillipono contacted the bank that the scammer's account was with and flagged it.
By that time, he had been scammed out of $2,780.
Realestate.com.au is a global online real estate advertising company.
In a statement provided to SBS News it says:
"Fraudulent rental listings are an uncommon occurrence, however a very small number of For Lease By Owner fraudulent listings have landed on our site and other property platforms. This is incredibly concerning as consumer privacy and security is an absolute priority. We always act swiftly to remove any fraudulent listings that we identify, and alongside our customers, we proactively inform renters who may have unknowingly inquired on a fraudulent listing."
The Real Estate Institute of Australia is the professional body for Australia's real estate sector.
Its president, Hayden Groves, says agents need to on alert for fraudulent schemes.
"Real estate agents are on notice after this particular scam activity, making sure that they remain vigilant, and conduct themselves in a professional manner that mitigates the possible risk to the consumer and the remaining public to make sure they are doing the right thing; following the law; making sure that they are not putting the public at risk."
The not-for-profit identity and cyber support service, ID-CARE, is currently handling over 700 cases of rental scamming, averaging almost $2,500 per person.
International students like Asal, who have no rental history record in Australia, find the search for housing especially difficult.
"It was really hard, because I was looking through every single rental website, every available source, daily, every day for several hours. I was scheduling many many inspections, but every place had some pros and cons, and I couldn't find. It was really hard to find a place to stay."
Then she found a listing for a rental in Sydney's CBD on Facebook Marketplace.
"I found a really nice place on George Street in the city. The price was average. I texted the owner, talked to him and everything seemed to be nice, like real legitimate. But since I was in the city, returning from the university, I decided I just let me try, go, and see that place from the like outside the building check with that if it's real. I went spoke with the concierge there. And after several calls, it turned out to be that the owner of this place is not renting that place. This apartment is not for lease and it's all a scam."
Multicultural groups are calling for more protection for international students.
Peter Doukas is the chairman of the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia.
"I think compelling educational institutions particularly the larger ones, to invest in housing is important. I think we need to remember though that Australia is different to other jurisdictions. Our largest universities are also in the middle of our largest cities. So, we don't have the beautiful country campuses that the other jurisdictions have, such as America where we have university we see hotels devoted to one university. But ultimately, prevention is the ultimate cure in my mind, and the answer is informing students in their own language about their options."
As for Cody Fillipono and his partner, they have been stretched to the limit.
"Unfortunately, because it takes so long to set away that money because of all the other things in life that are expensive now, this has forced us into exploring share house options. Which is what we were trying to move away. But we just simply do not have the finances to be able to afford another bond and rent straight up. So unfortunately, we are now forced into exploring another share house option with another couple."
