Stay safe

1. Renting a room

• View before you pay. See the room in person, or on a live video call where the person walks you through it.
• Never pay a deposit to “hold” a room you haven’t seen, and never pay by gift card or crypto.
• Ask for a written agreement. In England, the landlord must protect your deposit within 30 days and give you the details.
• A Right to Rent check, where the landlord looks at your passport or share code, is normal. Sending copies of your documents before a viewing isn’t.

Scam signs: a price far below others nearby, a landlord “abroad” who can’t show the room, pressure to pay today, or a request to move the chat off WhatsApp to email.

2. Jobs and visa sponsorship

• Never pay to get a job. Real employers don’t charge for interviews, training or uniforms before you start.
• Nobody can sell you a certificate of sponsorship. UK rules stop sponsors charging workers for sponsorship costs.
• Look up the company on Companies House, and check sponsors on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors on GOV.UK.
• Every employer must pay at least the National Minimum Wage and give you a payslip each payday.

Scam signs: a job offer without an interview, a fee for “processing”, a request for your bank login or codes, or an email from a free address that claims to be a big company.

3. Events and tickets

• Book through the event page on London Abbai. Every guest gets their own QR code.
• Don’t buy screenshots of tickets from strangers. The organiser can pass a ticket to you for free from the ticket page, which gives you a fresh code.
• Meeting someone new at an event? Tell a friend where you’ll be.

4. Everyday safety online

• Never share a bank code, a sign-in link or a one-time code with anyone, even someone who says they work for us. Our team never asks for them.
• Keep chats on WhatsApp so you have a record.
• Trust your gut. If it feels wrong, walk away and tell us.

5. If something goes wrong

• Tap Report on the post, or use our contact form. Our team looks at safety reports first, within 8 hours.
• In danger now: call 999. Not an emergency: call 101.
• Lost money to fraud: call your bank straight away, then report it to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040 (Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland).
• Housing problems: Shelter (england.shelter.org.uk) and Citizens Advice (0800 144 8848) give free advice.
• Work problems: Acas gives free advice on 0300 123 1100.

London Abbai connects members, but we don’t take part in deals between them. Our team acts on every report and removes people who put others at risk.