starflats

could anyone confirm that the StarFlats site is just a scam site or due you need to be careful of individual adverts?

i am a little bit confused because Scamadviser.com gives the Starflats site a 93% trust rating yet there is lots of horror stories on the internet plus when i clicked the Exeter City Council link on their partners section it does indeed take me to ECC but it contains the following message "If you have arrived at this web page as a result of a web-link from the website of Star Flats, we would advise you that Exeter City Council do not have any affiliation with this company and are currently working to remove this link"

when chatting to potential landlords should i be asking to see some official id documents and proof of ownership? thank you in advance for any help given

andy

The Starflats site is genuine, but just like all free listing sites it has its share of Scammers.

It is virtually impossible to be sure if a listing is fraudulent or not until the 'landlord' starts to ask for payment in advance of viewing - Take the advice given by following this link and you will sidestep the majority viewtopic.php?f=39&t=12278.

Never send money in advance of viewing.

thank you for your reply, so far the three people i have contacted have replied the same way, very disheartening

Aside from asking for money up front is there anything else that i should look out for? would a landlord be offended if i asked for id and proof of ownership? sorry if im repeating myself

andy

Hi andy,

Do you know what proof of ownership of a piece of property looks like?
Would you be able to distinguish a valid ID from a faked ID?

Scammers send out fake IDs all of the time. In fact, that is ALL they send out.

A real landlord will not ask you to send money by Western Union. A real landlord will meet you AT the property and show it to you. A real landlord will not make excuses or make promises that "once you send the money, I will send the keys to you...".

These are the things scammers do. They want you to trust them and get upset if you don't trust them, and especially if you don't send them money. If it seems too good to be true, it is NOT true.

If you are still suspicious after reading the advice given here then 'Google Search" for the Landlord's e-mail address and then 'Google Search" unusual phrases and paragraphs from the e-mail.

A genuine Landlord will always be more than happy for you to speak to him over the phone (a Scammer won't) -- ask lots of questions about the accommodation and nearby facilities such as shops and public transport, however, look out for telephone numbers which begin +4470 or +44070. Scammers sometimes try to disguise these by writing them like this:

+44 701 234 5678
+447 012345678
070 123 45 678
(0) 7 0123 456 78

All telephone numbers which begin +4470 or +44070, however well disguised, are not normal UK telephone numbers, but are 'redirect' numbers, redirecting all calls to a mobile phone elsewhere in the world. A scammer may make an excuse for using a redirect number, claiming that he is on a business trip. It is extremely unlikely, however, that even a travelling genuine Landlord would use one of these numbers. Always assume that a +4470 or +44070 number is a sign that this is a scammer.

Another tip is to reply to the advertisement/listing using another e-mail address and see what you get back.