The most common scam targeting students involves fake landlords advertising attractive, cheap rooms or looking for roommates, then demanding a deposit.
According to Mr. Cu Xuan Tien, Head of the Admissions and Student Affairs Department at the University of Economics and Law, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, at the beginning of the academic year, his department received many complaints from students about being scammed when renting accommodation.
"The demand for accommodation is high, and students are eager to find places to live, but they lack information, experience, and legal knowledge, making them vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous individuals," Mr. Tien said.
The problem stems from students being too trusting, renting rooms without signing a contract or with a loosely worded contract. Upon moving in, they are often informed of numerous additional fees or arbitrary price increases by the landlord. Mr. Tien said there have been cases where students signed rental contracts without specifying the prices for electricity, water, or parking. Only after moving in did the students realize the landlord had increased prices, forcing them to terminate the contract and lose their deposit.
Another common scam involves landlords who are not the owners impersonating them to steal the security deposit. Additionally, many students rent through intermediaries, only to find the landlord reclaiming or selling the property after a while, making it difficult or impossible to recover their deposit.
Mr. Le Xuan Thanh, head of the Political and Student Affairs Department at the University of Mining and Geology, said that a student once encountered someone claiming to be the landlord, who demanded a three-month deposit. After receiving the money, the person disappeared. It turned out that this was just a short-term renter who impersonated the landlord to post rental ads and collect deposits.
Another form of scam involves luring students into sharing a room and splitting the rent. Students are often asked to pay 3-6 months' rent upfront, claiming the person has already paid in advance. After receiving the money, this person – who is not actually the tenant – disappears. The real tenant then returns and refuses to share the room with the student, or demands additional payment before allowing them to stay. According to Mr. Thanh, this situation often involves collusion between the initial imposter and the actual tenant.
"The common thread in these scams is that they exploit students' lack of information and their failure to verify who the actual tenant or landlord is," Mr. Thanh said.
With the same goal of scamming out of deposits, fraudsters may use the "bait and switch" tactic, posting information about cheap, beautiful, fully furnished rooms and urging students to put down a deposit to reserve the room because someone wants to rent it immediately. However, when students go to view the room in person, they discover that the room is dilapidated and doesn't match the advertised images; if they don't rent it, they have to accept losing their deposit.
Furthermore, according to Mr. Thanh, taking advantage of students' desire to rent fully furnished rooms, many landlords include clauses in contracts that require tenants to repair or replace furniture if it breaks, regardless of how long they stay. Many old items, when re-packaged, will quickly break down after only a short period of use.
To avoid being scammed when renting accommodation, Master Nguyen Ba Dai, Deputy Director of the Center for Business Relations and Student Support at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, advises students to proactively seek support from the Youth Union, Student Association, and student affairs office.
"Information about student accommodation is collected by the Student Union and Associations from neighborhood committees, police, local organizations, or through direct surveys, so students can trust it," Mr. Dai said.
If students are looking for accommodation on their own, they should visit the property in person, ask the landlord or neighbors for information about the owner, security, carefully consider the distance to school and surrounding conditions before deciding to pay a deposit.
"Students should choose areas with good security first, then look for rooms. If they find a good room at an unusually low price, they need to investigate thoroughly," Mr. Thanh said, adding that students should meet directly with the landlord and request a contract when renting, instead of going through brokers or intermediaries.
When deciding to sign a rental contract, students should carefully read the terms and conditions, paying attention to costs such as electricity, water, internet, parking, sanitation, and repairs. If sharing accommodation, there should be an agreement and consensus with roommates regarding living expenses.
For new students, Mr. Le Xuan Thanh suggests that they should go with a relative or acquaintance who has 1-3 years of experience living in the area when viewing or making a deposit on a room.
Experts advise new students to live near the university. While accommodation in this area may be more expensive, it offers convenient transportation and avoids the hassles of navigating traffic and roads when first starting out. If students choose to live further from the university to find better accommodation, they should select a location with a bus stop nearby.
If there are still vacancies in the university dormitories, this is a safe, convenient, and cost-effective option for new students during their initial time in the city.
Source
Comment (0)