How to spot a housing scam
International students are the number one target. The patterns are always the same. Learn them once.
The rules that keep you safe
- Never pay before you've seen the place, in person or on a live video call where they show you the door number and the street.
- Never send a copy of your passport before you've signed a contract with a real person.
- Never pay by Western Union, MoneyGram, crypto, or gift cards. Dutch landlords use bank transfer (Tikkie, iDEAL, IBAN).
- Never pay a "reservation fee" to hold a room. Real landlords don't do this.
The classic scripts
"I'm abroad, my agent will send the keys." They're not abroad. There is no agent. There are no keys.
"Pay through Airbnb to be safe." The link is a fake Airbnb page. Real Airbnb is never used for a year-long rental.
"Many people are interested, transfer the deposit today to secure it." Pressure is the tell. Walk away.
The price is too good. A furnished studio in the centre of Maastricht for €450 all-in does not exist. If it did, a Dutch student's cousin would already be living in it.
How to verify a landlord
- On Kamernet, look for the green "verified" badge (they paid €0.01 via iDEAL from a Dutch bank account, which means a real Dutch identity).
- Google the phone number and the photos (right-click, "search image"). Stolen photos show up on other listings.
- Ask for a video call. Scammers refuse.
- Ask which gemeente form they'll sign for your registration. Scammers don't know what that is.
What Casa does
Every listing gets a scam score. Price anomalies, "abroad" language, courier keys, payment before viewing, foreign numbers. High scores are hidden from alerts entirely. Medium scores get a warning on the card. It's not perfect, so the rules above still apply.
If you've been scammed
Report it to the police (politie.nl), your bank (they can sometimes reverse a transfer within hours), and fraudehelpdesk.nl. Then message our team. You're not the first and it's not your fault.