PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — College students looking for off-campus housing are increasingly falling victim to subletting scams, whether they're trying to find a place to live or find someone to take over their lease.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, young adults are three times more likely to be scammed.
Elana Ostroff said her daughter's move into an off-campus apartment near the University of Central Florida in Orlando went smoothly in part, because they took precautions.
"She went over to the apartment to see the apartment beforehand with a few friends, so she didn't go by herself," Ostroff said. "She checked out the apartment. It was great. It was a perfect location. And then I handled all of the transactions, both with the mom as well as through the leasing office."
I had an experience where my daughter wanted to sublet her place and offered some money off the first month's rent. A prospective tenant expressed interest but insisted her parents needed the money up front. We advised my daughter to wait until the girl signed the rental office agreement — which never happened.
Real estate attorney Dan Kaskel with Sachs, Sax and Caplan said subletting scams are happening at colleges across the country. He said students can take steps to protect themselves.
"There are ways to at least try to protect themselves," Kaskel said. "They can visit the apartment personally, maybe hire a local realtor just to do a walk through, ask the owner, or the person who's subleasing the space, to do a live video."
Kaskel also warns students not to rush into sending money.
"When you see things like hurry, rush, I need payment, I need advanced payment, I need a deposit, any type of high pressure," Kaskel said.
He said Craigslist and Facebook are the biggest platforms where college students get scammed, largely because they are free to use and widely popular.
Students and parents can check their university's website for any warnings about subleasing off-campus housing.
