At housemates.com.au we are committed to making our website as secure as possible for you to enjoy a safe and hassle free experience whilst being a member.

Scammers are rife and we all need to educate ourselves so as to minimize our chances of being caught out. Together we can assist in the elimination of these deceivers.

A scammer will respond to your ad and they usually sound very excited. They will want to send you a cheque to secure the room. When the cheque arrives it is way more than the amount discussed. In between you receiving the cheque and the cheque clearing through the bank they will ask you to return the over paid amount. BE WARNED THE CHEQUE WILL BE FAKE!!! If you send the overpaid amount back before it clears, your money will be gone and you will not hear from them again. If you don’t send it the scammers will probably hassle you with constant calls, threats, and frightening requests to the point that you just want them to back off!

Ask them questions about the attractions they plan to see or are interested in. What airport they are flying into? Who are they flying with? What is their home address? What contacts have they got here? You should get a gut feeling from the answers.

Always remember if it is too good to be true, it probably is. Whatever happens, do not send them a cheque, a money gram, a wire, or bank transfer!!! You will not get it back!

If you are looking for a room overseas, go through a reputable company, do not send money before you go unless you are absolutely sure it is legitimate.

Always best to ignore them if you are not sure, better to miss out and wait for the next enquiry or available room than to lose loads of your hard earned money.

If you are not sure you can ask us here at housemates or log onto www.scamwatch.gov.au