Treat it as a scam until you've seen the place in person. It peaks every September, when students are looking.
Take out passwords, codes and card numbers first.
What it looks like
A flat or room well under the usual price, with good photos. The owner says they're abroad and can't show it, there's lots of interest, and if you pay the deposit now they'll send the keys, or a "booking platform" will hold the money.
Red flags
- A price well below others nearby.
- Nobody can show it to you.
- "Lots of people want it, pay today".
- Payment by money transfer services, abroad, or through a link to a "secure" booking page.
- A company writing from a Gmail or Outlook address.
- Photos that appear in other listings.
If it's happening now
- Don't pay anything before you've seen the place and met the landlord or the agent.
- Search the photos online to see if they appear elsewhere.
- Check the address on a map's street view.
- Report the listing to the website.
Already paid?
- Call your bank now and ask whether the payment can be stopped.
- Keep everything: the listing, the messages, the payment.
- Report it to the police and to the website.
Where to report it
If money has gone or you shared card details, call your bank first, on the number on your card or in its app, never a number from the message.
Which country are you in?
- Free help, every day 8:00–23:00. INCIBE: call 017, WhatsApp 900 116 117 or Telegram @INCIBE017. Official page
- Report a scam message. Forward the email, or a screenshot of the text, to incidencias@incibe-cert.es. Official page
- If you lost money. Report it online at denuncias.policia.es, then sign it at a police station within 72 hours. Call 091 if it's happening now. Official page
- If your bank says no. Complain to your bank's customer service, then to the Banco de España if it won't help. Official page
- Report a scam text. Forward it to 7726, free. Official page
- Report a scam email. Forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk. Official page
- If you lost money. Report Fraud, at reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040 (England, Wales, Northern Ireland). In Scotland, Police Scotland on 101. Official page
- Report a scam text. Forward it to 33700, free. Official page
- Free help. 17Cyber, at 17cyber.gouv.fr. Official page
- Report a fake website. Pharos, at internet-signalement.gouv.fr. Official page
- If you lost money to an online scam. Complain online through THESEE on masecurite.interieur.gouv.fr. Official page
- If your card was used online. Block the card, then report the payments through Perceval on masecurite.interieur.gouv.fr. Official page
- Report a scam text. Forward it to 7726. Official page
- Report a scam. ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Official page
Read on the official pages on 12 November 2026.
Questions people ask
They sent a copy of their ID. Isn't that enough? No. Scammers send stolen or fake IDs. Seeing the flat and meeting them is the check.
What if I can't visit because I'm moving from abroad? Ask someone you trust to visit for you, or use a known agency with an office you can check.
They want me to pay through a booking platform. Is that safe? Only if you started on that platform yourself. A link sent by the "landlord" to a booking page is a common trick.
How much below the usual price is suspicious? If it's much cheaper than everything similar nearby, ask why before anything else.
Can Kiwi check the listing? Yes. Press the button, send the link or the messages, and Kiwi tells you what looks wrong.