Fraudulent Agencies and Holiday Accommodation
Category Newsletter: Featured Article
Every year accommodation scams are rife on the North Coast of KZN and at popular destinations such as the Zimbali Coastal Resort. Experienced con artists are already planning their latest schemes as the school holidays and Durban July fast approach. Holiday accommodation scams usually involve a fake listing posted online, often on Facebook or Gumtree, but increasingly on reputable sites where people might be less wary. Airbnb and Booking.com are just two popular sites known worldwide that guests have been scammed on.
Scammers steal photographs from a number of legitimate rental houses and combine them to create a realistic looking holiday house listing. Or they use a real house that is not available for holiday rental. It may have previously been a holiday rental home, but has been sold and is now a permanent family home. Scammed guests arrive to check into their " holiday house" at the Zimbali Welcome Centre. However, the house does not exist, is not a rental house or is a rental house but has been rented out by a legitimate rental company with guests already in it. The Zimbali Welcome Centre have no choice but to inform guests that they have been scammed and there is nowhere for them to stay. This often occurs over long weekends, school holidays and other peak times when finding an alternate house is very difficult especially when families are travelling with children, babies or elderly parents. And due to long drives or flight schedules this can be in the evening when everything is closed. The guests have normally paid the scam booking either a large deposit or in full. The guests have to pay again for a legitimate holiday house, and they are often in a panic.
As we are fully accredited with the Zimbali Estate and the EAAB and have operated in Zimbali since 2009 we have been contacted in the past by the Zimbali Welcome Centre asking us if we have any holiday houses available at the last minute for scammed guests. Unfortunately during peak times all houses may already be booked.
These are a few red flags to look out for to avoid scams:
- If a holiday house advertisement looks too good to be true, it probably is.
- Check the prices of other similar sized houses in the same area, and over the same time period to get an idea of whether the cost is consistent. If you are getting a low season rate over a high season, or if it's a 4 bedroom house for the price of a 2 bedroom house, it's probably a scam.
- Many holiday homes are in security estates such as Zimbali, Simbithi, Brettonwood. Search whether the Estate has its own website and ask them directly whether they use Estate Accredited Agents. For example: contact Zimbali and ask which rental agents are accredited with the Zimbali Estate, these accredited agents have passed exams and been vetted by the Estate in order to be accredited.
- If you are on a big site such as Airbnb or Booking.com check to see how many reviews that property has. Genuine properties will normally have a number of reviews. Also, they would have been listed for a months or years. If a property has recently been listed, or if it does not have reviews, that is highly suspicious. The scammers constantly put up and take down listings.
- On Airbnb check to see whether the Host listing it, has other properties listed. A number of different houses listed by the same company with a lot of reviews over a length of time, shows a history of satisfied guests over a range of houses. This takes considerable time and effort to build up. This is a good sign.
- On a site like AirBnB or Booking.com, never agree to pay the hosts outside of the site unless it has been stated on the listing before the booking is confirmed, that there is a specific item that is payable separately. Some scam hosts might ask over whatsapp for a direct deposit for a security or cleaning fee after you have booked. Always pay through the site if it has not been stated in writing beforehand.
- Always check the photos of a home to see if they look consistent and cohesive. Scammers take photos from different sources and put them together to make a single house. A good way to see a scam is to look to see whether the flooring matches.
- If you suspect the accommodation might be a scam, you can use a reverse image search engine on your browser. This way, if the photo has been posted in other parts of the world or on other listings, it is probably fraudulent.
- Be wary if the advertisement specifies WhatsApp as the only contact method. Hosts/Agents should always be available to talk on the phone and via email as well. Zimbali Travel is just one popular website that is fraudulent. Their website looks real but they communicate via email and WhatsApp.
- Look out for people that ask for payment to be made to a smaller bank. Tyme Bank is one which is commonly used. Ensure that you are paying to a company or trust account not a personal account. As per the Property Protections Act, accredited agencies are to have a trust account in order to hold guests deposits. Scammers do not have Trust accounts for you to pay your money into, they will use a normal account which is easily opened and closed.
- Spelling errors and invoices which do not seem accurate often indicate fraudulent activity.
- Only use accredited holiday rental agencies that follow the Property Practitioners Act of South Africa. This means they are registered with the South African Property Practitioner's Act Board of Affairs and hold a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate which allows them to practice as a Short Term Holiday Agency. Ask companies for proof of their FFC. No FFC means no Trust account for your money.
We hope our experience in the holiday rental market and our experience in helping unfortunate guests who have previously been scammed is of assistance to you in making informed decisions.
Please feel free to contact Zimbali Homes if you have any questions about Zimbali holiday houses you have seen online. We will do our best to assist you with any information that we have.
Some useful information was gathered from the North Coast Courier and Private Property.
Author: Roxanne Sander
