As the new academic year approaches in Tashkent, scammers have become more active, using popular platforms like OLX to post fake rental listings. Their victims are often students searching for accommodation near universities or metro stations.

Scammers attract potential tenants by offering apartments in convenient areas of the city at very low prices. These offers seem appealing to young students, especially those who lack experience in finding housing. However, as it turns out, these apartments do not actually exist.

Victims, seeing these tempting offers, contact the «landlords» who then persuade them to pay a deposit to reserve the apartment and prevent it from being rented to others. The deposit amounts range from 200,000 to 600,000 UZS. After receiving the payment, the scammers block all communication and disappear.

Key Signs of Fraud:

1. The price is suspiciously low for a convenient location in the city center.
2. A request to transfer a deposit before meeting in person or viewing the apartment.
3. Lack of clear information and reluctance to sign an official rental agreement.

To avoid falling victim to fraud, students and their parents should follow a few simple rules:

• Never transfer money before meeting the landlord in person and viewing the apartment.
• Always sign an official rental agreement, even for short-term rentals.
• Verify the authenticity of the information and avoid suspiciously attractive offers.

In case of doubt, it’s better to spend time carefully searching for housing and avoiding deals that seem too good to be true, rather than losing money.

The text has been translated by AI. For more accurate information, please refer to the Russian version of the article