Beware of Fraud! (Names of Scammers)

Jamie, welcome to the forum and thanks for alerting the other members about possible scammers. You can find a number of such posts here in the forum but mostly one can smell something....

But as a side note, it's quite common practice in cities like Munich, Hamburg etc that affordable living space is limited and indeed students lining up.

jamkro wrote:

Hello expat-bloggers,

Please be aware of possible scammers and fraudulent activity on this website.

I was sent a message from a user named "Simona Nemanja" in response to my ad looking for a place to rent.

Report the PM to the mod team, and a ban will usually follow quickly.

Kudos for d alert. Scammers go away!

The rental housing fraud is a well known variant of advanced fee scams: You are promised accommodation for rent at a very attractive price, but for some reason or another you are required to pay a certain sum first before meeting the landlord or viewing the property. Once you pay, you will never hear from them again (or get your money back) and of course the apartment doesn't even exist.
Just use your common sense and NEVER pay anything before having seen the apartment in person and having signed a legally valid rental contract!
And: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
(This is true not only in Germany, but anywhere.)