WEBVTT - Scam Alert! Impersonators target renters in Consumer Protection rip-offs

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<v Speaker 1>You've always got to keep your wits about you because

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<v Speaker 1>those pesky old scammers are trying to steal your details

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<v Speaker 1>or clean out your bank accounts. But when you see

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<v Speaker 1>a Consumer Protection logo you think it's legit, you might

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<v Speaker 1>have to think again because concerning you, wave of rental

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<v Speaker 1>scams is emerging. The scammers and our posing as Consumer Protection.

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<v Speaker 1>Trish Blake is the Consumer Protection Commissioner and she joins

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<v Speaker 1>your live on six pr Is Friday High.

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<v Speaker 2>Trish, Hey, Ollie, it's gonde full sir. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>Look, and this is an incredibly frustrating and concerning development.

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<v Speaker 3>So it's a variation on an existing kind of scam

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<v Speaker 3>theme that we've had. So we know that scammers will

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<v Speaker 3>target people who are desperate to find a rental property,

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<v Speaker 3>and they'll advertise fake rentals and take people's bond money

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<v Speaker 3>and rent in advance, and then the person gets ready

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<v Speaker 3>to move in only to find the house was never

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<v Speaker 3>available for rent. What they're doing now because one of

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<v Speaker 3>the things that what we used to say to people

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<v Speaker 3>is if you pay a bond, make sure you get

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<v Speaker 3>a bond receipt from us, from Consumer Protection or the

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<v Speaker 3>bond administrator to confirm that your bond is being deposited,

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<v Speaker 3>and these scammers are actually issuing fake emails to these

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<v Speaker 3>victims to reinforce the scam or to say it's legit.

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<v Speaker 3>You've paid me a bond, here's your receipt. Now you

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<v Speaker 3>need to pay me more rent in advance. This is

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<v Speaker 3>before the person has even moved into the property.

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<v Speaker 1>And they're using what your logo or pretending that it's

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<v Speaker 1>somehow affiliated with Consumer Protection Trees.

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<v Speaker 3>Yet they're using our logo, they're using our forms, so

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<v Speaker 3>they've copied our our materials. The one thing that they

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<v Speaker 3>cannot copy though, and this is what I want people

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<v Speaker 3>to really look out for, is the email address itself.

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<v Speaker 3>So make sure you hover over or you know, the

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<v Speaker 3>email address to get the true full email address that

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<v Speaker 3>the mat has been sent from, because ours will always

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<v Speaker 3>come from WA dot gov, dot au, coming from Gmail

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<v Speaker 3>and other generic email accounts.

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<v Speaker 1>So people, as you say, we know there's a rental crisis,

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<v Speaker 1>where are they finding their victims? Are they approaching them

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<v Speaker 1>or is it somebody maybe seeing a post for a

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<v Speaker 1>rental property on social media?

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<v Speaker 2>And this is how they try to the lure them in.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, look it's both. So we often see a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of advertisements on social media platforms, and these will be

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<v Speaker 3>properties that are being advertised. You'll be told that you

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<v Speaker 3>can go to a drive by that you can't go in,

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<v Speaker 3>and they'll have all sorts of reasons why you can't

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<v Speaker 3>go inside the property, and then they ask for money

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<v Speaker 3>in advance. But we're also seeing and I still see

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<v Speaker 3>it on the social media platforms, people who are desperate

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<v Speaker 3>for a home and they post a wanted you know,

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<v Speaker 3>I need a rental. They ask for help of their community,

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<v Speaker 3>which is understandable, but the scammers, this is that's just

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<v Speaker 3>like a target to scammers, and they just start message

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<v Speaker 3>direct messaging, and I've seen the grooming that these scammers

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<v Speaker 3>do and it is incredible. Like they'll say, look, I'm

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<v Speaker 3>a really good person as a landlord, and I can tell,

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<v Speaker 3>I can feel that you're a good person. And you know,

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<v Speaker 3>for this tenant who's desperately trying to get a property,

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<v Speaker 3>they are a good person. And so to have someone

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<v Speaker 3>reassure them that they're a good person and I'm just

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<v Speaker 3>going to help you out and I'm going to give

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<v Speaker 3>you this property, and yes it's going to be cheaper,

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<v Speaker 3>but just go have a look, make sure and then

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<v Speaker 3>start paying me money. The grooming is very intense, and

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<v Speaker 3>you don't you just don't think that it could be

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<v Speaker 3>a fake?

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<v Speaker 1>Is all the communication done online or of some scammers

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<v Speaker 1>been as brazen to meet people face to face.

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<v Speaker 3>Look, most recently we've had a gentleman who's lost two

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<v Speaker 3>four hundred dollars. That's after he met the scammer face

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<v Speaker 3>to face. Well, you met the fake landlord in person.

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<v Speaker 3>They were outside the property. He said, look, you can

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<v Speaker 3>only look outside. You can't go inside because there's current

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<v Speaker 3>tenants in place. But if you like the look of

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<v Speaker 3>the property and you like the location, I'm happy to

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<v Speaker 3>rent it to you pay me your money now. So

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<v Speaker 3>this poor gentleman lost two four hundred dollars, which would

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<v Speaker 3>have been a bond payment.

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<v Speaker 2>Geez. They have really got their backs up having these scammers.

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<v Speaker 1>So keep our antennas up if we think we've come

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<v Speaker 1>into contact with any of these people locally. Obviously trush

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<v Speaker 1>to get in contact with Consumer Protection because you go hard.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, absolutely want to get I want to get these

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<v Speaker 3>people because I am not happy that they're using our

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<v Speaker 3>materials to purpose, you know, to double down and really

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<v Speaker 3>impact these poor victims. So please if you see any

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<v Speaker 3>of this behavior, please notify us as quickly as possible

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<v Speaker 3>so that we can work with the police and try

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<v Speaker 3>and take over these locals. But also, if you see

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<v Speaker 3>these ads online, and even if you're not sure before

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<v Speaker 3>you jump in and pay money, even give Consumer Protection

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<v Speaker 3>a call and talk to us over the phone and

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<v Speaker 3>we'll be able to help you talk through and maybe

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<v Speaker 3>help you spot some red flags.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you're thinking that's sort of too cheap at

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<v Speaker 1>the moment, it probably is too good to be true.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a bit of a telltale sign, isn't. If the

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<v Speaker 1>property you think in the local areas maybe five hundred

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<v Speaker 1>a week and this one's two hundred and forty bucks,

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<v Speaker 1>there is something going on.

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<v Speaker 3>Absolutely, if you cannot look inside the walk away, I

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<v Speaker 3>can almost guarantee you it's a scam. If it's way

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<v Speaker 3>cheaper than the local rentals in the area, walk away,

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<v Speaker 3>because it's going to be a scam. And if they

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<v Speaker 3>start telling you how wonderful a person, how they can

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<v Speaker 3>feel you're a wonderful person, and they haven't even met

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<v Speaker 3>you walk away.

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<v Speaker 1>Helene says, Thank goodness, we have people like Trish looking

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<v Speaker 1>after the interests of all of us, vulnerable or not.

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<v Speaker 2>This is why we love you. Trish awesome.

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<v Speaker 3>Thank you very much. I wish we could do more.

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<v Speaker 2>Have a good weekend.

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<v Speaker 3>Thanks Solly, you too,