"Dream home" on TikTok

A house with a pool in Vienna for €860: is that possible?

Suspiciously cheap: two of the apartments advertised in Vienna(Bild: Krone KREATIV/TikTok)

Is housing still affordable for young people? Yes, if you look at the numerous TikTok offers with temptingly cheap apartments and houses. But are they real—or ultimately too cheap to be true?

Coaching offers for all situations alternate with online shops that literally undercut each other with bargains. The goods on offer are often not even available or are delivered in substandard quality. Fraudsters also try to get their hands on the money of mostly young TikTok users by playing on their sympathy. The fact is: when you scroll through the huge flood of videos on the social media platform TikTok, you are confronted with fraud more and more often – unconsciously for most people. 

The ads usually feature well-located apartments that look like real bargains.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/TikTok)

What is striking is the excessively low prices of the advertised properties. For example, a house in Vienna's 14th district with a pool is advertised for rent at only 860 euros. An 85-square-meter apartment in the 1st district is advertised for only 890 euros. Of course, these prices are too good to be true.

There is never a viewing. In some cases, interested parties are strung along and later pressured to pay a deposit amounting to several months' rent.

Die „Watchlist Internet“ warnt

Phishing for data and money transactions
And yet, as the "Watchlist Internet" warns, young people are falling for the scam in droves. Communication with the fraudsters takes place via WhatsApp, and a data sheet, a copy of ID, and proof of income are quickly requested. This is a phishing attempt to obtain valuable data. As if that weren't enough, a processing fee is also demanded to reserve the apartment. It is supposed to be transferred back – a lie, of course. The victims never see any of the money again.

The dream of finding an apartment is too often thwarted by fraudsters.(Bild: Stefan Steinkogler)

There is never a viewing because the properties do not exist. They are usually more expensive on genuine platforms – the photos were stolen from there.

The "Krone" also came across fraudulent offers
Caution is also advised on traditional sales platforms. The "Krone" recently came across a suspiciously cheap apartment in Vienna's 3rd district. Research into the building pictured revealed that apartments in the block were indeed for sale. Here, too, the fraudsters had simply stolen the photos. It is unclear how much money they have swindled with the fake ads. Too many people do not report cases of fraud out of shame.