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Add as a favourite source on Google Add DutchNews as a favourite source on GoogleHundreds of fake advertisements for student rooms and rental homes are circulating on TikTok in an effort to defraud people looking for housing, according to an investigation by broadcaster NOS.
The scammers are also lifting listings from Pararius, one of the largest rental platforms in the Netherlands, and the company says it now wants TikTok to act. “We are completely fed up and want action from TikTok now,” Jasper de Groot, a Pararius spokesperson, told the broadcaster.
Some of the people who lose money come to Pararius believing they have rented through the site, De Groot said, because they have transferred a payment – only for it to reach a scammer instead.
**Scams and complaints **
The fraudsters copy photographs of real rooms from Pararius and reuse them in fake posts. Victims are typically asked to pay before they can view a property – a deposit, a viewing fee or a “reservation guarantee” – after which the money disappears.
The national student union, the LSVb, said it regularly hears from young people who get conned out of their money. “Sometimes a deposit is also demanded in advance and the room turns out not to exist at all,” said vice-chair Juliana Könning. “Students then lose their deposit of, say, three months’ rent.”
The Fraudehelpdesk, the national fraud reporting centre, received 175 reports in the first half of 2026 from people scammed through an advertisement, NOS Stories said, up from 21 in the previous six months.
International students are among those most exposed, unable to fall back on a parental home and often unfamiliar with their rights, the LSVb has warned in the past.
Platforms under pressure
TikTok said content used to defraud people is not allowed and that it removes such posts. The platform did not explain why it had not acted on the reports filed by Pararius.
After NOS Stories shared a number of fake advertisements, the accounts behind them were taken down, but dozens of other scam accounts remained online.
Pararius said it had sent TikTok dossiers containing victims’ police reports and a registered letter, without success, and would take legal action against the platform. “It has to stop,” De Groot said.
Funda said it warns consumers but can do little because the fraud takes place elsewhere, while room-rental site Kamernet said it advises users to report suspicious posts and may pursue legal steps if they are not removed.
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