Spam & fake-accounts

Don't just send a copy of your ID if you don't know who the provider is and without seeing the Apartment. Scammers can commit fraud with your ID. You can find more information about identity fraud and how to prevent it on the government's website.

Is the provider really the owner of the Apartment? Unfortunately, Apartments Utrecht cannot screen whether the provider of the Apartment is also the owner. You must always conclude the lease with the provider. This is not necessarily the case with subletting, but it is wise to screen whether the main landlord is aware of the subletting. Online you can see who owns a Apartment. You can do this via the Kadaster website

What is a scammer, how do I recognize it? Scamming is a form of scam. Someone tries to persuade you to transfer an amount to him / her on the basis of lies. If a scammer is active on www.appartementutrecht.nl, you can often recognize this by: First of all, the provider always says that he or she is abroad. The reasons for this differ. You will be asked to pay the deposit in advance without seeing the Apartment. After you have paid the deposit, they break contact and you are left without Apartment and a good amount poorer. So NEVER pay a deposit or rent until you have the keys of the Apartment in your possession. It is smart to indicate to him / her that you only want to pay for everything once you have a contract and a key at your disposal. In this way, both parties can enter into the agreement with complete confidence. You are requested to transfer the deposit or rent via Western Union or MoneyGram. It also happens that they ask you to send money via TNT or UPS. At Western Union and / or MoneyGram, receiving money can be done fairly anonymously, which is why these scammers choose this. Do not fall for it if the provider sends his ID to you. This one is fake. Furthermore, you may notice that the scammer does not really respond to your questions, asks you to communicate via email and / or Skype (instead of www.appartementutrecht.nl) and communicates in English. These English texts are usually clearly translated by a translation machine (eg Google Translate or Babelfish) and are full of spelling mistakes.

An example of a scammer's writing style "You really sound straight forward and sincere, I would love to rent my apartment to you and treat you like my potential tenant, because am sure you are very tidy and neat. Yes I am the landlord of the apartment and I own the property. As regarding the viewing of the apartment, it's quite unfortunate I don't have anyone to show you around but rest assured that it won't be an obstacle. You will have to do me a favor of going to the address i sent to you in my first mail and see the apartment from the outside and observe the surroundings neighborhoods of the apartment. I have to be honest with you that i am here in UK with the keys of my apartment and i am willing to hand over the keys to the person that is renting that apartment from me, viewing of the apartment can be arranged when we reach an agreement. Yes it is very much possible to register with the municipality. The only reason am here in the UK with my keys was for the fact that when I left the country, I had no intention of renting that apartment out because it was home I ever wished for but on getting to the UK, I realized that the apartment needs someone to take care of it and that was why i decided to rent it out. I hope you understand that it is when you have the keys of the apartment that you will have ultimate access to the apartment and be assured that the apartment is rightfully yours so if you are interested in renting my apartment, please share your observations with me after you must have seen the apartment from the outside so that we may enter an agreement ". Be careful!!

Apartments Utrecht screens all Apartments offered on www.appartementutrecht.nl. Unfortunately, some scammers know how to get through the screening properly. We are of course very alert to scammers, but unfortunately we can not counter all scammers. That is why we ask you to also be alert.

Report abuse If you see anything suspicious on our website, you can report this via the 'Report abuse' button under the comment field with a Apartment advertisement. You can also find this button at the bottom of the website. You can also make a report by sending us an email to info@huurwoningennederland.nl. We will take action immediately and if it turns out to be a scammer, we will block the provider. Don't hesitate and let us know if you come across a Apartment that is 'too good to be true'.

View the description and photos critically If you come across an Apartment in, for example, Utrecht for 200 euros, there is a good chance that something is not right. The average rents in these cities are much higher. If photos are offered with an Apartment ad, they will first be screened by Apartments Utrecht. However, it can still happen that fictional photos are offered. Therefore, take a good look at them and compare them with the description given. Are you unsure whether the provider is the owner of the Apartment? Unfortunately, Apartments Utrecht cannot screen whether the provider of the Apartment is also the owner. You must always conclude the lease with the provider. Online you can find out who owns an Apartment. You can do this via the Kadaster website. In the case of subletting by a tenant, the owner must also be aware of the rental.

Always prepare a lease Always draw up a rental agreement with the provider before you rent the Apartment. If the provider does not want to draw up a rental agreement, it may be that things are not in order and we also advise you not to discuss this. Never give a copy of your ID beforehand A copy of your identity document is required when concluding a lease, but never give it to the provider in advance. Only do this when you conclude the lease and make arrangements for the key transfer. This way, your ID cannot be misused.

Reporting to the police If you have noticed any scams or other type of abuse or you have been scammed, you can report this to the police. However, you must do this yourself and we cannot do it for you. You can send a copy of your declaration to us, so that we are aware that a declaration has been made. We would like to receive this via info@huurwoningennederland.nl.