How to spot a student rental scam

The scams you will actually run into

Almost every student rental scam is a variation on one of these.

• The listing that does not exist — photos copied from a real listing or an estate-agent site, a price well under the going rate, and a “landlord” who cannot show you the room but will “hold it” for a deposit.
• The overseas landlord — they are “working in the UK / Dubai”, the keys are with a courier or an agent, and they need your deposit before they can post them. There is no room.
• The double-let — a real room shown to several students in the same week, with each asked for a deposit; only one gets it, or nobody does.
• The middleman — someone who is not the owner sub-lets a room they rent themselves, without permission, and disappears with your deposit when the real landlord finds out.
• The fake platform message — a WhatsApp or email pretending to be from DigsConnect or a residence asking you to “confirm your booking” with a payment. We never ask you to pay us for a room.

Red flags

One of these is a reason to slow down. Two or more, walk away.

• Any request for money before you have seen the room — in person or on a live video call where you choose what to look at.
• A price clearly below everything comparable in that suburb.
• Pressure: “three other people want it”, “pay today or lose it”, “the price goes up tomorrow”.
• The person cannot meet you at the property, or keeps rescheduling the viewing while still asking for the deposit.
• Payment by cash send, voucher, cryptocurrency, or into an account whose name does not match the landlord or the company on the lease.
• No written lease, or a lease with no address, no deposit terms and no landlord details.
• Contact only through a number that does not match the one on the listing, or a refusal to talk on the platform.

How to verify a landlord in ten minutes

None of this is rude. Real landlords deal with it every day.

• View the actual room. Walk in, open cupboards, look at the bathroom. If you cannot travel, insist on a live video call and ask them to show you the street and the front door.
• Ask for ID and proof of ownership or authority — a municipal rates bill or title deed in the landlord’s name, or a signed mandate from the owner if it is an agent or sub-letter.
• Match the bank account to the person. Pay by EFT to an account in the same name as the ID and the lease. Keep the proof of payment.
• Get the lease first, then pay. A one-page WhatsApp message is not a lease. It should state the address, rent, deposit, what is included, the dates and both parties’ details.
• Search the photos. A reverse image search on the listing photos often turns up the original listing they were copied from.
• Keep the conversation on the platform until you have viewed the place. It gives you a record, and it lets us step in if something is wrong.

How DigsConnect reduces the risk

Landlords on DigsConnect are confirmed before their listings go live, and those who have been through extra checks carry a “verified” or “trusted landlord” badge. Students and landlords message each other through the platform first, so there is a record of what was promised. Searching, enquiring and messaging are free for students — if anyone claiming to be DigsConnect asks you to pay us for a room, it is not us.

It is still your money and your decision: a trusted landlord tells you the person exists and owns or manages property, not that you should pay before viewing.

If you have already paid

Move fast. Call your bank immediately and ask them to reverse or freeze the payment — the first hours matter. Open a case at your nearest SAPS station and get the case number; the bank will ask for it. Report the listing and the person to the platform where you found them (on DigsConnect, use the report button on the listing or message support). If the scam involved a real address, tell the actual owner or body corporate — you are unlikely to be the only target.