Protect Yourself Against Scammers: How Fake Emails Are Targeting Investors and Tenants

Real estate is increasingly becoming a target for sophisticated scams. Cybercriminals are now impersonating real estate agencies, property managers, and trusted service providers to trick property owners and renters into sending money or disclosing sensitive information.

At Rent Choice, we take your security seriously. In light of these rising threats, we’ve included some key information and timely reminders below to help spot scams.

The growing threat: Scammers using fake agency emails

One of the most common ways criminals scam landlords and tenants is by impersonating their property manager. This is often done via email where they pose as legitimate property management agencies or service providers. These emails may:

• Claim to be from a known property manager or agency.
• Urgently request changes to bank account or payment instructions.
• Urgently request you to confirm or update information to gain your personal information.
• Contain links to fake documents, mimic trusted systems or send you to “secure portals” designed to harvest data.

In many of these cases, emails can look legitimate as scammers use more advanced methods to make their messages look highly professional and personal. 

To keep your investments and transactions secure, Rent Choice follows thorough protocols for both landlords and tenants. 

Rent Choice payment processes for tenants

For tenants, the safest option to pay rent is via our direct debit payment system. This allows us to automatically withdraw your rent when it’s due.

To help protect against scams, we:

• Prefer not to accept bank transfers
• Take or make unverified email instructions for payments
  
  
• Will not ask ever for key deposits or holding fees for new rentals.
  
  
• Make bond payments go through BondsOnline (A WA Government platform).

This method is more secure and reduces the risk of fraud because direct debit payments are processed through verified banking channels rather than email instructions.

Keeping tenant and landlords’ personal information safe.

Scammers don’t just want money, they also target victims for personal information or to infiltrate their devices, such as phones and computers. 

If you need to update your personal information; change your payment instructions or alter a lease or management agreement, we will not rely on email alone. 

We will call you directly to confirm the request before proceeding.

If you receive any unexpected emails requesting payment changes or updating your information, stop and call your designated property manager first.

You might receive emails from third-party suppliers and contractors

From time to time, you may receive emails directly from Rent Choice’s  approved, third-party suppliers or contractors in relation to your property. This can include platforms and service providers such as:

• PropertyMe
  
  
• Inspection Express
  
  
• Bond Administration
  
  
• Approved maintenance contractors and suppliers

These communications can be a normal part of managing your property.

However, if you receive an email that seems unusual, unexpected, or suspicious, we encourage you to pause and verify it first. 

Simply contact Rent Choice or your property manager for confirmation before responding or clicking any links. We’re always happy to check and confirm whether the communication is legitimate.

Red flags to watch for

Scammers often rely on urgency and emotional triggers. Here are some warning signs your email correspondence is from a scammer.

• They are requesting last-minute changes to payment details.
• They are asking you to click links or open attachments to update or verify information.
• The email address or domain is unusual or slightly different from your regular correspondence.
• They are requesting you to pay outside of agreed payment systems.

If you ever receive a suspicious email or are unsure about a request, contact your property manager or our office 08 6365 5665 directly to confirm before taking action.