Flat-hunters warned of scams

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Police are warning flat hunters to beware as scammers create fake ads for rental properties on popular New Zealand websites.

Text and photos from recently-advertised legitimate rental properties are usually copied into the fraudulent ads, police say.

Officer in charge of the Wellington Area Intelligence Unit, Daniel Nelson, says the ads usually offer very cheap rent for good properties.

"We're urging people looking for flats to beware of these types of scams and make sure you never let a property without viewing it first with the owner or agent, to avoid becoming a victim of crime."

Mr Nelson says his unit was alerted to the scams by a woman who was about to move out of her rented Mount Victoria home.

Despite knowing the owner had found new tenants, she found the property advertised online by a landlord claiming to live in London.

An inquiring email was met with a request to deposit a bond and rent into an overseas bank account upfront.

A statement from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs says that money would likely have been impossible to recover.

It urges flat never to wire cash unless they are convinced the landlord is completely trustworthy.

The scam is also sometimes worked it reverse, with fake flatmates contacting legitimate advertisers, the statement says.

Signs that it's a scam:

- The property is advertised at a low rent comparatively to the market

- The 'owner' will claim to be overseas, and ask for a deposit and rent money to be sent via a wire transfer

- The 'owner' will be a Reverend or another trustworthy figure of the community

- NZHERALD STAFF