Rental Scam - Landlord edition!
Almost got scammed today while trying to rent out our property in Kollam.
A guy contacted us claiming to be an Army jawan looking for a place on rent. He sounded genuine, spoke respectfully, and quickly agreed to the token amount and security deposit after seeing the property photos and video.
Today he called and said the payment would come through some government/army account department. Then another guy joined the call pretending to be from accounts.
He asked whether I use GPay or Paytm. I said GPay.
Then he told me to open the app and enter HIS bank account number and IFSC code. The weird part was that he asked me to type MY name as the receiver name while entering HIS account details.
That immediately felt suspicious to me.
I asked him:
“If this is your account number, why am I entering my own name as receiver?”
He instantly became defensive and started arguing that:
“This is official army procedure”
“This is how payments are processed for jawans”
“You don’t understand government systems”
The more I questioned him, the more aggressive he became. Finally I told him I don’t want to give him the property anymore and he immediately cut the call.
The whole thing felt extremely rehearsed. I’m posting this because the “army officer/jawan” angle can easily make people trust them emotionally and lower their guard.
The number used was: 097850 02647
I am from North but married to a Malyali girl so raising awareness for my fellow malyali family to be aware of such scams because I loved Kerala and dont want people to loose their hard earned money.