NSW tenant warns after scammer tried to cheat her out of $2,000

A tenant has revealed she was nearly scammed out of $2,000 by a scammer pretending to own a property.

The woman had been looking for property to rent on the NSW Central Coast and saw a lovely house advertised on Facebook Marketplace.

She sent a message to the person who posted the ad and tried to make an appointment where she could meet and view the home in Umina Beach.

She was told there was a lot of interest in the property and was repeatedly asked to pay a deposit before viewing the home.

The woman quickly realized it was a scammer when she decided to investigate and showed up at the property to find a lady who already lived in the house.

A tenant has revealed she was scammed out of nearly $2,000 by a scammer pretending to own a property (stock image)

The woman sent a message to the person who posted the ad and tried to make an appointment to meet and tour the home on Umina Beach

She shared her exchange with the scammer online to warn other renters to be careful not to fall victim to scammers.

The woman sent the scammer a message saying she was interested in the advertised item.

“It’s available now but can you please let me know if you can secure the property now as a lot of people are asking about it right now if that’s ok with you?” he has answered.

The woman said she was happy to move in asap, before being told the weekly rent would be $400 and the deposit would be $1,600.

“You must sign your paperwork and pay a security deposit to secure the property now so I can post the deposit immediately and send you the receipt,” the scammer wrote to her.

“Then meet me at the property tomorrow so you can get your keys. And move in right away, if that’s okay with you?’

The woman repeatedly asked to view the property before being blocked online.

She took it upon herself to drive to the house and inspect it herself.

The woman discovered that a lady already lived on the property and had been there “a very long time”.

“She owns the house and has no intention of renting the property,” she wrote.

The woman quickly realized it was a scammer when she decided to investigate and showed up at the property to find a lady who already lived in the house

A Sydney woman has admitted she is now working around the clock to cope with the debilitating double whammy of a huge hike in her rent and the rising cost of living

The scam is an added blow to renters who are already struggling to find properties and can afford higher prices.

A Sydney woman has admitted she is now working around the clock to cope with the debilitating double whammy of a huge hike in her rent and the rising cost of living.

The rent for her Zetland shared apartment in downtown Sydney is set to rise from $850 to $1,000 a week, forcing her to work 60 hours a week to make ends meet.

She is one of many Australians who are feeling the full impact of the Reserve Bank’s eight-month interest rate hike, whether they rent or own a home.

The RBA has raised interest rates by 3.0 percent since April, the highest level in a decade.

The hikes have caused mortgage payments to rise by hundreds of dollars and rents to skyrocket as homeowners pass the rise in interest rates on to their tenants.

Renae said the increase has caused a lot of stress in her household as the cost of living continues to rise.

“We are very nervous about what our future could be like, we don’t know if we can stay in this house,” she said.