How not to be a victim & online scams

When I was first looking at housing overseas I did all the things I thought were right:

I joined my school's housing site, the school's housing FaceBook site, several real estate sites, and talked to friends in Europe or that had lived abroad.

I asked questions of potention rental units about terms and leases, furnishing requirements, smoking/non-smoking, pets, municipality codes, etc. I asked about availability of parking and distances from school, who was responsible for utilities and how they were managed, I reviewed contracts and agreements and subrental paperwork, etc. 

I thought I was golden.

Yeah, not so much. I swear, one day I'm gonna write a book. 

I moved, by myself, to the Netherlands for grad school. The week before I was to arrive I still hadn't found accommodation. I was on the school's housing sites, the realitors, everything. Finally a girl messaged me that she had an apartment for subrent if I wanted to do that. It was two bedrooms and a bit out of my price range, but if two people went in on it, we could swing it. I had been communicating with two other girls for a few weeks who were in the same situation I was and when this came up, I told one of the girls (who was coming from Greece)  about it. We decided to go for it and I sent the entire deposit to this girl. The other girl sent half because of transfer rules at her bank. 

The next day we found out we'd been scammed. 

No room, no money, no help from my bank or the police in the Netherlands. I paniced. I had no idea what I was going to do and the other girl was thinking of dropping school completly. Eventually I just went zen-it's just money. Granted, more than I could afford to lose, but I was safe, she was safe, there was no blood or fire involved, so I just said forget it and rented a shortstay room. I paid for a month to be safe, even though it was farther away and a pain to get to. 

Two days before I left a room opened up on the student housing and I grabbed it. It wasn't available for 2 weeks, but when I actually got to the Netherlands I was able to talk to the leasing company and they let me in early. I lost the bnb money, but I was nearer to campus and in my own apartment, which is what I really wanted. 

I learned my lesson though. 

I move to France in a few months for my second year. I got a room through school and confirmed availability before signing. No payment until I get onsite as well. For me, the room and getting my bank set up were the two biggest freak-out items. Everything else is annoying but managable. If you know where you are going to live and don't have a trustworthy friend onsite, go with a rental company or get a shortstay and walk around yourself. It's just safer in the long run. Also, there's a new scam where people ask you to send a screenshot of your bank account balance to prove you have financing. They take this to Western Union (who does not check if it is theirs) and withdraws all the money. 

So just be safe and smart. Don't give anyone any banking info at all if you can avoid it. I will say, now that I've done a year in the Netherlands, France doesn't freak me out as much. Good luck and enjoy! It really is worth it. If nothing else, you learn a lot of life skills!

Here are pictures from when I first moved in. My room is a mess now with packing to leave so you don't get to see that. LOL

My building complex in the Netherlands. Yes, I live in a shipping container!

Bathroom

From the window facing towards the kitchen, bathroom, and front door.

Facing the window. There is a desk on the left.

My tiny kitchen. My freezer sucks, btw.