Finding a suitable house in Bengaluru can be a daunting task. One has to deal with sky-high rent, brokerage and even absurd eligibility criteria that include high education qualifications.
Sometimes, getting a house in the city can be harder than landing a job. But that’s not all. One also has to be vigilant of scammers who are exploiting the high demand for housing and deceiving people for money. Scammers are posting fake details of non-existent flats with attractive photographs and offer to lure and dupe home seekers. In a recent case, a techie who was searching for a new one ended up losing around Rs 1.6 lakh to these cyber fraudsters.
The 25-year-old Techie, who is from Kolkata, recently landed a high-paying job at a leading IT firm in Kadubeesanahalli. He was planning to move to the city and start his new role on June 1. But before relocating, he was on a house hunt and was looking for a good home to stay.
“My girlfriend and I planned to move to Bengaluru and I was looking online for rented houses. I spotted an attractive offer on the real estate portal NoBroker about a flat in Marathahalli. The monthly rent was Rs 25,000 and two months’ rent had to be paid in advance. I called the contact number provided and the owner identified himself as an Indian Army officer posted in Mumbai,” he told TOI.
The Marathahalli house seemed ideal to the software engineer, who wanted to rent a place close to his work. So to secure the house, he asked the army officer to proceed with the rental agreement.
“The Army officer connected me to someone who he claimed was the manager of his Bengaluru flat and the duo asked me to make a deposit of Rs 4,000 to seal the deal, which I did through GooglePay. They told me it was a (government) granted property and I needed to secure a paid visiting pass to come and see it; they said the sum was refundable. I believed them as I trusted the portal, which seemed to be reputed,” he added.
He reveals that he was duped into making eight online transactions, which amounted to an extra Rs 1.6 lakh in ntotal. However, he was unable to reach the fraudsters after he transferred the money.
In the meantime, NoBroker, the online platform where he found the advertisement of the Marathahalli flat, removed the listing but held the customer responsible for paying the ‘owner’ multiple times without verifying his identity or visiting the property in person
I you are also looking for a rental house keep these notes in mind: online do keep these things in mind :
*Before paying a deposit, get a signed lease agreement and do not share your personal or financial information online. Avoid paying cash.
*Visit the property in person at least once and meet the landlord face-to-face. Confirm his identity and credentials.
*Beware of strangers who send you QR codes or links to scan or click. They may be trying to hack your bank account or data.
Be sceptical of deals that seem too good to be true. They are likely to be scams.
Use reliable platforms that offer verified listings and full rental support.
