The matrix of virtual rooms surrounds new students in the mountain town of Thai Nguyen

The new school year is approaching, many parents and new students in Thai Nguyen are still struggling to find a room to rent.

Taking advantage of the scarcity of rental rooms and the impatient mentality of finding a place to live, many subjects have come up with sophisticated tricks to appropriate deposits under the guise of renting.

A popular trick of the subjects is to post pictures of spacious rooms with full amenities and rental prices much lower than the general level.

Along with that are winged advertisements like near the school, good security, and adequate interior clearance to attract "prey" struggling to find a place to live at the beginning of the new school year.

Posing as a parent looking for a place to rent for his child, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters approached a Facebook post about renting a room in Thai Nguyen. This poster constantly affirmed that the room is beautiful, the only one left, to create psychological pressure on tenants.

This person also took a series of photos of spacious rooms and comfortable interiors. The voice was confident: "There are many students coming to see and book a lot here, if you don't deposit quickly, someone else will hire you".

When the reporter suggested being able to come and see it in person, the subject gave the homeowner's reason for not being there, instead asking for a deposit of 500,000 - 1 million VND to keep the space, otherwise someone else would rent it.

When he saw the tenant hesitating, the subject immediately changed his tone and harshly responded. "I told you the truth, it was the only room, people kept calling me. If you don't deposit quickly, you will lose it all tomorrow".

That urge combined with the fear of losing opportunities has caused many parents and students to transfer deposits according to the amount of loads provided by the subject.

But immediately after the money was sent, the subject's account immediately blocked communication, and the rented room disappeared as if it had never existed.

Another trick that many subjects also use is posting information through community groups to "find Thai Nguyen student accommodation rooms".

There, scammers often impersonate real landlords, even using images taken from reputable posts to deceive those who look for them.

When the contacts asked to come and see the room, the subjects gave the excuse of "not allowing the room to be viewed directly" and only accepted to keep the room through bank transfer and deposit

In addition to exploiting the impatient psychology, the subjects also created a scenario of "old customers about to return to the room".

They made a clear handover date, prepared a contract and took the victim to the real address.

After the money for the reservation was transferred, the tenant came and was surprised when the real homeowner confirmed that he had never advertised for a room to rent.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong, a parent in Ha Giang, said: "I saw that they were selling beautiful rooms at reasonable prices, so I transferred a deposit of 500,000 VND. But then they were blocked from contacting me immediately, I couldn't contact him, my child was about to go to school, I was really upset."

On August 29, speaking with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Thai Son - Deputy Secretary in charge of the Youth Union, University of Science (Thai Nguyen University) confirmed that there was a situation of student loan fraud targeting parents and new students.

A popular trick is to post information about rental rooms with eye-catching images and unusually cheap prices on Facebook groups and forums, then ask for money to be transferred to book before coming to see.

According to Mr. Son, the school has previously informed and advised students, especially new students and parents, to be vigilant and absolutely not transfer room deposits to strangers.