NATIONAL NEWS - The police are warning students looking for accommodation for 2018.

With the New Year around the corner and lots of new first year students looking for accommodation, we would like to caution students to be vigilant of sending EFT payments into private bank accounts advertised on the internet. 

In most of the cases the students have viewed an advert online and after contacting the person, they send the deposit, never to hear from the person again.

These adverts can originate from private individuals and also from scam or bogus letting agencies online. 

These agencies appear to be legitimate and will send the student a full lease agreement and in a few isolated instances they will even arrange for a contact to show the flat to the student. 

Some agencies have fake websites to make them appear to be professional.

The public are encouraged to verify the credentials of the person advertising the accommodation and the legitimacy of the property advertised. 

If you come across a bogus advertisement, please report the matter to your local police, so that the matter can be investigated.

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