!!! Unfortunately, there have been incidences of fraud by fake landlord/-ladies renting rooms to students that are still abroad and were not able to see the room/apartment beforehand and check the identity of the landlod/-lady.
Some tips to verify authenticity:
- Only rent what you have seen
- Ask the landlord for a copy of his/her ID to make sure he/she is not a scammer
- Ask your real estate agent for reference data (company where he/she is employed, search the web for his/her name, email address, tax number
- Check if the email address is correct/works, likewise with phone numbers
- If not possible in person: Get a digital tour of the apartment and make sure that the landlord/real estate agent is really standing in front of the building (showing the address to you) before entering the apartment