Real estate experts are warning tenants to be cautious of a “highly convincing” rental scam.
It comes after one concerned tenant contacted their property manager to question a fake letter that urged them to send future payments to a new bank account following a change in their rental property’s ownership.
The letter appeared to come from Turner Real Estate, the agency the tenant was renting through, even having its new logo printed at the top of the page.
Turner Real Estate chief executive Emma Slape said the fraudulent letter appeared legitimate but the main giveaway was that it wasn’t addressed to the tenant by name.
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Tenants are being urged to keep a look out for a new rental scheme.
“Most real estate agencies would communicate with you by your name as they have those details,” she said.
“It’s quite convincing, I think the level of sophistication in this is rather cleverly thought out.”
Ms Slape said the scammer was likely following recent rental listings online to determine who to target.
As soon as her agency was notified of the letter, she said they contacted all their tenants to warn them.
“A lot of them came back and said thanks for the heads up,” she said.
Ms Slape said they also reported it to Scam Watch, the Real Estate Institute of South Australia, Consumer and Business Services, SA Police and the bank referenced on the letter.
Ms Slape urged those who receive similar letters to consider several factors to determine their legitimacy, including who it was addressed to and how the message was delivered.
Turner Real Estate chief executive Emma Slape. Picture: Brad Griffin
“It’s rare that things come by post – tenants are used to getting phone calls, messages and emails,” she said.
REISA chief executive Andrea Heading said they also took action as soon as they were notified of the scam.
“We’ve sent out an alert to all of our members,” she said.
“It’s much better to be informed and know what to look out for than not.”
In her alert to members, Ms Heading said the letter was “highly convincing in appearance and could easily deceive even vigilant tenants”.
REISA chief executive Andrea Heading.
She urged members to inform tenants of their agency’s official process to change rental payment details, advise tenants to verify changes before taking action, and ensure staff were aware so they could respond to tenants’ queries.
Consumer and Business Affairs minister Andrea Michaels also urged tenants to never take letters or emails received with such requests on face value.
“It’s really important to be cautious about any request to change payment details, including those seemingly sent by a property manager or landlord,” she said.
Consumer and Business Affairs minister Andrea Michaels.
“Always contact the property manager or landlord directly to verify, using a contact number you either already have or one that you have independently verified and not the contact details contained on the correspondence.
“Similar scams have been reported in the past and checking first is the best way to protect yourself against potential losses.”
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