Worked example
This is what the check gives you back.
Most scam-checking tools describe their output. This page renders one. Below is a complete free verdict — the same signal rows, the same wording and the same score our engine produces for a real run — so you can decide whether it is worth your sixty seconds before you paste anything.
Last updated: 24 July 2026
The listing and message below are an illustrative composite of the patterns our checker reports most often. No real advertisement, landlord or victim is depicted. The signal wording, the scoring and the band are produced by the production engine, not written for this page.
The listing
A furnished studio advertised in a city Facebook housing group in late August — the peak of the international intake, when rooms are scarce and people book from abroad.
- Where it was posted
- A city housing group on Facebook
- City
- Groningen
- Type
- Self-contained furnished studio
- Advertised rent
- €425 per month, all-in
- Available
- Immediately, 12-month minimum
- Photos
- Six interior photos, no exterior, no street view
The message the renter received
This is the part most people paste into the checker. You do not need the listing link — the message alone is enough for a verdict.
Hello! Thank you for your interest. The studio is still available.
I am currently working in Ireland, so I cannot do the viewing myself. My property is managed remotely.
To reserve it I need the first month plus deposit today — many people are asking and I keep it for whoever confirms first.
Please continue on WhatsApp, Facebook is not reliable for me.
You can send by bank transfer, or Revolut if it is faster for you. I will courier the keys once the payment clears.
The verdict
Five checks ran. One fired hard, two raised a concern, one came back neutral and one came back clean. Here is exactly what the engine returned.
5/100
High riskStrong scam signals fired. Do not pay a deposit until these are resolved.
The score is a weighted read of the signals below, not an opinion about the person. It is a risk signal, never a guarantee.
Every signal, and why it fired
Scam-script & contract analysis
Strong scam-script patterns detected in the listing text.
Patterns found in the message
- Asks for a deposit or rent before any in-person viewing.
- The ‘landlord’ claims to be abroad and can't meet or hand over keys in person.
- Pushes to move to WhatsApp/Telegram/email only, off the platform.
- Wants payment by an irreversible method (Western Union, crypto, gift cards).
Four separate scam-script patterns in one message is the strongest thing the free check can see. Any one of them can have an innocent explanation; all four together is the script, almost word for word.
Price vs. the area
€425/month is ~39% below the typical local floor for a self-contained place in Groningen (~€700) — a price this low is a classic bait used to rush a deposit. Genuine cheap deals exist, but treat this as a reason to view in person before paying anything.
Cheap listings do exist. What matters is the gap: a price far under what the city's floor allows is the bait that makes people skip the viewing, and skipping the viewing is how the money is lost.
Payment account
The deposit account is a FOREIGN IBAN (country PL). Legitimate Dutch rentals collect the deposit on a Dutch (NL) IBAN — a foreign account is a common scam pattern. Do not pay until this is explained in person.
A Dutch rental collects its deposit on a Dutch IBAN. A foreign account is not illegal, but it removes the practical route to recovering the money and is one of the most consistent markers we see.
Reverse-image check
We didn't find these photos reused elsewhere online. That's not proof either way — original-looking photos don't make a listing real — so a live viewing is still the real test.
We searched for these photos elsewhere online and did not find them. That is genuinely neutral — it is not evidence the listing is real, and we say so rather than converting it into reassurance.
Address exists
The listing's address exists in the Dutch national address register (BAG). That the place is real doesn't prove the lister owns it — still view it in person and, if paying, use the owner-check.
The address is in the Dutch national address register, so the building exists. That says nothing about whether the person advertising it has any right to rent it out — which is precisely the gap the owner-check closes.
What this verdict does not prove
- It does not prove the person is a scammer. It reports patterns; people are entitled to explain them.
- A clean result is not a clearance. A scammer can copy a genuine listing, and there is no signal set that catches every impersonation.
- The free check never touches ownership. It reads the listing and the message — nothing about who holds the deed.
- It is not legal advice. Dutch rental law changes, and the numbers on this page carry the date they were last verified.
What the owner-check adds
The one thing this verdict cannot answer is whether the person asking for money is the person on the deed. The paid check queries the Kadaster, the Dutch land registry, against the address and the name you were given, and returns a match or a no-match. It never shows you the owner's identity — you supply the name, we tell you whether the register agrees.