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Scam check

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Five minutes of checking before you call the owner can save a month's rent. The key trick — reverse image search.

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Reverse image search: the #1 anti-scam trick

Scammers almost never photograph the flat themselves — they steal photos from other listings. Find where the photos came from and the scheme falls apart.

  1. Save 2–3 photos of the flat from the listing (long-press → “Save image”).
  2. Open Google Images (images.google.com) → camera icon / Google Lens → upload the photo. On the phone it's even easier: long-press the photo → “Search with Google Lens”.
  3. Run the same photo through Yandex Images (often finds what Google misses) and TinEye (tineye.com).
  4. Compare the results: same flat in other listings? Different city or country? Different price? A different “owner” name?
⚠️ Same photos in a pricier listing/another city, or a different “owner” name — the photos are almost certainly stolen. Don't call; report the listing.
Red flags in the listing and the chat
  • Price clearly below the market — check our “below market by N%” badge and the red anti-scam warning in the listing.
  • The owner is “abroad right now”; an “agent” or a “courier with keys” will show the flat.
  • They ask for payment, a deposit or a “reservation” before the viewing — that never happens legitimately; it's the #1 scam marker.
  • They pull you off the portal into a messenger, a foreign number, refuse a call or a video viewing.
  • They ask for a passport/residence-card scan “for the booking”.
  • They rush you: “three people are already interested, decide today”.
Check the owner and the listing text
  • In our listing card: “✨ AI breakdown” scores the risk; chips show “N listings on OLX” and the seller's account age.
  • Google the phone number in quotes — victims often post warnings.
  • Google the first sentence of the description in quotes — stolen text shows up in other listings.
  • Open the seller's portal profile: when created, what else they post.
Safe payment
  • Never transfer money before an in-person viewing and a signed contract.
  • Contract and handover protocol first — money and keys after.
  • Cash only against a receipt (pokwitowanie); a bank transfer with a payment title is better.
  • BLIK to a phone or crypto for an “owner abroad” — full stop.
Already sent money?
  1. Save everything: the chat, the listing (screenshots), the transfer confirmation.
  2. Report to the police (online or at any komisariat) — fraud is art. 286 of the penal code.
  3. Report to the portal (OLX/Otodom “Report abuse”) — they'll take the listing down and you'll save others.
  4. Call your bank: sometimes a transfer can be stopped or disputed.