Consumer protection warns against those impersonating own agency through rental scams
West Australians looking for rentals are being warned to be extra careful with the rise of scammers impersonating government agencies demanding payments for fake bonds.
According to Consumer Protection, the WA ScamNet team have received 35 reports of rental scams so far this year with 12 victims losing a total of $27,875.
The figures are not far off the numbers from the entirety of 2024 where 45 reports were made and 16 victims lost a combined $39,935.
The scam works by someone claiming to be a landlord or real estate agent and offering to lease a non-existent rental property.
An email claiming to be from Consumer Protection is then sent demanding payment to secure the lease.
One man who fell victim to the scam was Samier Rouze, 45.
Mr Rouze lost $2400 on a fraudulent bond for a northern suburbs rental property.
While he did meet with the so-called landlord in person and became friends with them on social media, the scammer did not allow him into the home by falsely saying it was currently tenanted so he could not go inside.
Mr Rouze said he was frustrated by the events.
'I was furious actually, I don't know why some people do that, taking advantage of the rental prices,' he said.
'I guess she just earned our trust very much because she was very engaging with what we asked.
'Our only mistake was to not knock on the door.'
Mr Rouze warned others to be careful and always see the property first-hand.
'Please check the place, if you can do it twice, thrice or just go to a Real Estate agent properly,' he said.
'I know it's a bit tough this stage due to housing issues but I think we should not let our guards down by means of checking the property itself so it doesn't happen to anyone else again.'
Consumer Protection commissioner Trish Blake said perspective renters should be extra careful to avoid being scammed.
'Online marketplaces and social media platforms are the primary hunting grounds for rental scammers, who use fake property listings and respond to 'rental wanted' ads to find victims,' she said.
'To outsmart rental scammers, always insist on an inside inspection before parting with any money and be wary of 'too good to be true' rent prices as that's a common tactic to lure more victims.'
Among the tips to avoid becoming a victim of a rental scam include being suspicious of properties that are listed well below the expected price, reverse image search photos given to you, do an online search of the address to check it is not being listed with another company and never make a payment without physically inspecting the property.
Ms Blake said you could also see if the bond payment request was legitimate by checking the email address.
'While scammers can replicate many things, they can't make their email addresses originate from the State Government,' she said.
'Hover over the sender's email address. If it doesn't end with wa.gov.au, then that's a very clear sign any correspondence claiming to be from Consumer Protection's Bonds Administration team is fake.'
Consumers with concerns about whether their bond has been lodged can call the Bonds Administration team directly on 1300 853 829 or email bondsadmin@demirs.wa.gov.au.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
21 hours ago
- West Australian
Consumer protection warns against those impersonating own agency through rental scams
West Australians looking for rentals are being warned to be extra careful with the rise of scammers impersonating government agencies demanding payments for fake bonds. According to Consumer Protection, the WA ScamNet team have received 35 reports of rental scams so far this year with 12 victims losing a total of $27,875. The figures are not far off the numbers from the entirety of 2024 where 45 reports were made and 16 victims lost a combined $39,935. The scam works by someone claiming to be a landlord or real estate agent and offering to lease a non-existent rental property. An email claiming to be from Consumer Protection is then sent demanding payment to secure the lease. One man who fell victim to the scam was Samier Rouze, 45. Mr Rouze lost $2400 on a fraudulent bond for a northern suburbs rental property. While he did meet with the so-called landlord in person and became friends with them on social media, the scammer did not allow him into the home by falsely saying it was currently tenanted so he could not go inside. Mr Rouze said he was frustrated by the events. 'I was furious actually, I don't know why some people do that, taking advantage of the rental prices,' he said. 'I guess she just earned our trust very much because she was very engaging with what we asked. 'Our only mistake was to not knock on the door.' Mr Rouze warned others to be careful and always see the property first-hand. 'Please check the place, if you can do it twice, thrice or just go to a Real Estate agent properly,' he said. 'I know it's a bit tough this stage due to housing issues but I think we should not let our guards down by means of checking the property itself so it doesn't happen to anyone else again.' Consumer Protection commissioner Trish Blake said perspective renters should be extra careful to avoid being scammed. 'Online marketplaces and social media platforms are the primary hunting grounds for rental scammers, who use fake property listings and respond to 'rental wanted' ads to find victims,' she said. 'To outsmart rental scammers, always insist on an inside inspection before parting with any money and be wary of 'too good to be true' rent prices as that's a common tactic to lure more victims.' Among the tips to avoid becoming a victim of a rental scam include being suspicious of properties that are listed well below the expected price, reverse image search photos given to you, do an online search of the address to check it is not being listed with another company and never make a payment without physically inspecting the property. Ms Blake said you could also see if the bond payment request was legitimate by checking the email address. 'While scammers can replicate many things, they can't make their email addresses originate from the State Government,' she said. 'Hover over the sender's email address. If it doesn't end with then that's a very clear sign any correspondence claiming to be from Consumer Protection's Bonds Administration team is fake.' Consumers with concerns about whether their bond has been lodged can call the Bonds Administration team directly on 1300 853 829 or email bondsadmin@
SBS Australia
a day ago
- SBS Australia
Final call: Optus' exploitation of First Nations customers must be the last, say advocates
Optus has agreed to pay a $100 million penalty, subject to court approval, over conduct that saw many First Nations people from remote communities sold services they did not want or need. Credit: Mark Baker/AP Optus, the second-largest telecommunications company in Australia, admitted this week to engaging in unconscionable conduct when selling telecommunications goods and services to hundreds of consumers, many of whom were First Nations. Dunghutti man Mark Holden, a senior solicitor at Mob Strong Debt Help - a non-profit organisation that offers free finance-related legal advice to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – says he hopes this is a wake-up call. 'This should be the final call now for the telecommunications industry to be able to shape up here and try to be more proactive, taking more practical steps to be able to end the harm to First Nations peoples here when it comes to the sale of an essential service," he said. Optus sold many First Nations people from remote services they did not want or need and has agreed to pay a $100 million penalty, after an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). 'Oftentimes, we find that the conduct happens in areas where there's more likely to be vulnerable people living there," Mr Holden told NITV. "So remote communities, rural areas, but even as well, in some urban areas as well too, where First Nations peoples often are targeted. 'They might come in and just be looking for a typical charge cable, and they'll be then sold a couple of phones, a speaker, a console, iPads. "And they're just being charged all these fees, that just racks up quite fast.' Optus is not the first telco fined for wrongful conduct. Telstra was penalised $50 million in 2021 for unconscionable conduct when selling mobile contracts to Indigenous consumers. 'I think that if the sales model makes money, then other people will be doing it as well," Mr Holden said. 'Because Telstra was doing it, we just were not surprised when ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) first announced that Optus was also doing this too. 'These are just two cases that we're looking at here, I wouldn't be surprised as well to if there are other telco providers here who could be doing the same thing.' As well as debt, the impact of the conduct can also lead to a lot of shame amongst mob. 'Besides the financial loss, here we have a lot of mob who are faced with this crippling debt," Mr Holden said. "And when it comes to debt, there's a lot of shame as well too. 'Sometimes there's a very, very strong fear of further action being taken against them, there's a fear of them maybe going to jail.' It's even left some people trying to access their superannuation to pay their debts. 'That's a very bit of extra harm here as well, too, that when people don't pay their debts, the telco can issue a default on the credit report, and that default can last for about five years from listing, and that can severely impact their ability to be able to take a loan, to be able to be able to support themselves," Mr Holden said. Optus is compensating impacted consumers for the period between August 2019 and July 2023, during which it agreed the alleged conduct took place. But Mark says it should go further. 'You want to be able to have a remediation program that looks at the entirety of the sales practices, so that even though we're looking at people who are affected in the period, we're looking at people who were affected before that and after that as well, too, people who've been treated the same way," he said. 'So that they also could get not only just a refund of what they paid, but also compensation with interest for the harm they suffered.' He says it should be a wake-up call for other industries too, as the pattern of exploitation isn't unique to the telecommunications industry. 'This is really a practice of exploitation, taking advantage of someone's vulnerability to their advantage," Mr Holden said. "Unconscionable conduct is not something that just telcos do. "There is a industry of exploitation where First Nations peoples can be targeted by people who might exploit their vulnerability to their advantage. 'There has to be a call to action to be able to stop this exploitation, to be able to actually start working with communities, to be able to try and provide them the products that they need for the for their communities.' Interviews and feature reports from NITV. A mob-made podcast about all things Blak life. The Point: Referendum Road Trip Live weekly on Tuesday at 7.30pm Join Narelda Jacobs and John Paul Janke to get unique Indigenous perspectives and cutting-edge analysis on the road to the referendum. Watch now
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Advocacy group finds cat fur clothing sold in Victoria despite import ban
Clothing containing cat fur is still being sold in Victoria while being labelled as fake or sheep's wool, an advocacy group says, years after a state government taskforce vowed to crack down on the practice. Forensic testing conducted by British fibre analysis firm Microtex has found a children's vest sold by fashion brand Suttons Ugg was made of domestic cat fur and rabbit fur, despite being labelled as "100 per cent Australian sheepskin or wool". Suttons Ugg is not connected to UGG Since 1974, the Australian brand. The tests, ordered by fashion advocacy group Collective Fashion Justice, also found two beanies purchased from Melbourne's Queen Victoria Market had pompoms made from fox and raccoon dog fur, but were labelled as acrylic. Raccoon dogs are fox-like animals that advocates say are often electrocuted, bludgeoned to death, or skinned alive for their fur. The discoveries have prompted animal welfare advocates and the Animal Justice Party to renew calls for a statewide ban on the sale of all animal fur, and a blanket ban on fur imports, arguing consumers are unknowingly purchasing real fur produced in cruel conditions overseas. "Every Victorian would be shocked to know that they could go to the store and accidentally buy something made from cat fur, when they may have a cat at home themselves," Collective Fashion Justice founder Emma Hakansson said. Under consumer laws, businesses can be fined up to $50 million, and individuals $2.5 million, for making false or misleading representations about products. In a statement to the ABC, Suttons Ugg, which has retail stores in Sydney and Melbourne, admitted the label on the vest was "wrong". A spokesperson said they had been informed by the manufacturer that the vest was made from a "kind of special fur", and the company could not "100 per cent confirm" whether that included cat. Australia banned the import and export of cat and dog fur in 2004, but the Australian Border Force has reported no seizures in the 20 years since the prohibition came into force. In 2020, Consumer Affairs Victoria launched an investigation into the mislabelling of fur products, which found every product independently tested by the taskforce was wrongly labelled. Fur sellers were issued warnings, and one committed to a fur ban as a result. Yet, years later, animal welfare activists say the practice remains widespread in Victoria. Emma Hakansson said consumers could look for certain traits to check they were not buying items potentially containing animal hair. "If the ends of the fur are quite wispy instead of blunt, then it's likely to be animal fur," she said. "If you look at the middle, you might find skin attached, whereas it would be on a woven, fabric backing if it was faux fur. You can also see that faux fur shines a little bit differently — there are a few different tells." Collective Fashion Justice, alongside the Animal Justice Party, has been testing fur products since 2021. Ms Hakansson said that in that time, they had found mislabelled fur in several markets, individual retail shops, and chain stores across Melbourne. The cat fur vest tested by the group was found after a tip-off from a member of the public. Animal Justice MP Georgie Purcell said it shouldn't be down to consumers to be able to spot mislabelled fur, and that Victoria should introduce a statewide ban on the sale of all fur. "The [Victorian government] had no issue immediately banning machetes, we think they should treat this with as much seriousness," Ms Purcell said. "We don't need another taskforce. We know that this is a problem, we know that the fur industry is cruel, we know that it's outdated." Louise Ward, programs lead at animal welfare organisation Four Paws Australia, said it was clear Victorian and federal authorities were unable to enforce laws banning the mislabelling of fur products and the sale of cat and dog fur, and a complete ban on the import and export of fur was needed. "Fur farming would not meet the basic welfare standards we have in Australia, and yet we're importing that cruelty from other countries," Ms Ward said. Australian Border Force (ABF) did not respond to questions asking how it monitored attempts to import cat and dog fur, and how many seizures had been carried out since Australia's ban was introduced, but told the ABC it had granted six permits for keepsakes of pets. However, Ms Ward, in email correspondence seen by the ABC, was told in April by ABF's Permits and Strategic Goods that no seizures had been performed since 2004. "There have been no reports of seizure of illegal imports of dog or cat fur since the introduction of the prohibition," the ABF spokesperson said. Last month, Switzerland became the first European country to ban the import and export of "cruelly produced" fur. In the UK, a private members' bill that would prohibit the import and sale of fur was introduced into parliament this week and is set to be debated later in the year. It followed a high-profile campaign and petition that received more than 1.2 million signatures. A spokesperson for Consumer Affairs Victoria said it "takes reports of business misconduct seriously and will investigate and take action where necessary." Home Affairs did not respond to requests for comment. Queen Victoria Market said it was "unaware of mislabelled fur items" being sold at the market. "We do not condone the sale of any goods of this nature and work with traders and relevant authorities to resolve specific situations when they are brought to our attention," a QVM spokesperson said.
