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🛡️ Safety

Safety and scam prevention on Mycampusapp

What we do to protect you, and the good habits to adopt

What Mycampusapp does to protect you

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Profile verification

User profiles are verified to limit fraudulent accounts and build trust between members.

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Active listing moderation

Every reported listing is reviewed by our team within 24 hours.

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Secure messaging

Your exchanges stay traceable on the platform — useful evidence in case of a dispute.

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Easy-to-find reporting

A “Report this listing” button is available directly on every listing page.

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An established student community

Mycampusapp is built on a community of over 600,000 students across France and Canada.

The most common student housing scams

The pay-before-viewing scam

How it works : A “landlord” asks for a deposit or the first months' rent before any physical viewing of the property.
How to spot it : Urgency (“several applicants interested, first come first served”), refusal or inability to arrange a viewing, request for a transfer to a foreign account.
What to do : Refuse any payment without a viewing. No genuine landlord asks for money before the viewing.

The stolen-photos scam

How it works : The listing uses photos taken from another property, often lifted from other listing sites.
How to spot it : Photos that look too professional, a property “too good for the price”, inconsistencies between photos (style, furniture, windows).
What to do : Run a reverse image search on Google Images. If the photos appear elsewhere (another site, another city), it's a scam.

The double-lease scam

How it works : The same property is “rented” to several students at once, each paying a deposit.
How to spot it : No written lease, multiple verbal promises, pressure to sign quickly.
What to do : Demand a written lease before any payment. Check that the lease names the exact property, with the full address.

The landlord identity-theft scam

How it works : The fraudster impersonates the real owner using their details, sometimes gathered from public records.
How to spot it : Refusal to meet in person, communication exclusively by email, identity that doesn't match the land registry or public records.
What to do : Ask for ID at the viewing. Cross-check it against the name on the property tax notice if possible.

The overseas-agent scam

How it works : The “landlord” claims to be abroad (expat, long assignment) and asks you to send money via Western Union, MoneyGram or crypto to reserve the property.
How to spot it : “I'm currently abroad”, unavailable for any meeting, a request to send money through an untraceable channel.
What to do : Never send money via Western Union, MoneyGram or crypto to reserve housing — these channels can't be traced. A genuine landlord accepts a standard bank transfer at signing, in person.

Good habits in every situation

✅Always view the property in person before any financial commitment
✅Verify the landlord's identity with an ID document at signing
✅Demand a written lease, signed by both parties — never a verbal agreement
✅Pay only by traceable bank transfer (refuse cash, international money orders, crypto)
✅Carry out a joint inventory of fixtures at move-in and move-out
✅Keep a written record of all exchanges (prefer Mycampusapp messaging)

How to report a suspicious listing

If you suspect a scam on a listing, report it in one click from the listing page (the “Report this listing” button). You can also email us at contact@mycampusapp.fr. We review every report within 24 hours.

What to do if you've been a victim?

1

Keep all evidence (message exchanges, bank transfers, screenshots of the listing, contacts).

2

File a complaint with the police: fraud is punishable under Article 313-1 of the French Criminal Code, up to 5 years in prison and a €375,000 fine.

3

Report it on Pharos, the official French Ministry of the Interior platform: internet-signalement.gouv.fr.

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Contact your bank immediately to attempt to stop or recall the transfer.

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Contact us at contact@mycampusapp.fr so we can remove the fraudulent listing and preserve the evidence for the investigation.

You are not alone. Student housing scams are unfortunately common, but they can be fought.
Back to your search, safely