Dear Watchareeya,
You have recently created a student account with Accommodation for Students.
We want you to enjoy using our website and to feel safe and secure when contacting landlords or fellow students on the housemate finder notice board.
Here are some hints and tips to ensure you are protected against potential scammers:
Protect Yourself Against Fraud
Accommodation for Students would like you to feel safe and secure whilst using our website. Our Housemate Finder Notice Board allows students to post messages in the following categories ‘I have a room to rent’ and ‘I need a room to rent’. As this service is free for students, it is also unfortunately open to abuse by scammers. We police the Housemate Finder Notice Board on a continuous basis and can usually remove scam emails before anyone even sees them but occasionally they can slip through the net.
Please follow these simple guidelines to ensure you do not become a victim.
1. Be wary of offers that are too good to be true. Scammers will try to entice you with fantastic deals for properties in sought after locations. They will take the time to make their advertisements look genuine with detailed property descriptions and images and will often put a very attractive price or very nice looking property to entice you to read more and make contact.
2. Be wary if the 'owner' of a property you are interested in makes various excuses as to why you can't inspect the property but insists on an upfront payment for rent or deposit.
3. DO NOT send any money via Western Union or Moneygram. Scammers often request payment by wire transfer. This is due to the fact the payment is untraceable and they do not require any form of identification (apart from knowledge of the transfer) to withdraw the money anonymously.
4. Before paying any money make sure you have viewed the property and have seen a copy of the rental agreement. We always recommend that you go accompanied by friend or family member when viewing properties. If you are an international student and this is not possible, we advise you to source accommodation with a reputable Letting Agent who will have pre-vetted the property and landlord.
Please feel free to email support@accommodationforstudents.com or call 0845 351 9911 should you wish to report a suspicious property advert or posting.
Many thanks,
The AFS Team
Check out our new student guide here or here for international students
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