People say to avoid offers that seem too good to be true. The problem is that after weeks of searching, my idea of “too good” became any person replying. A room without a viewing can be a scam, but international students cannot always travel for viewings. A landlord asking for documents can be normal, but the documents contain exactly the information you should protect. Being asked to pay quickly is suspicious, but real rooms also disappear quickly. Every warning has an exception and every exception is expensive. I nearly continued with an offer because I wanted it to be real. The photos looked ordinary. The explanation was believable. What stopped me was not expertise; it was a friend saying the pressure felt wrong. We should keep sharing scam warnings, but we should also be honest that the housing system creates ideal conditions for them. Desperate students are not stupid students.