By Marta Jary for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 07:54 EST, March 2, 2024 | Updated: 09:16 EST, March 2, 2024

Young Australians trying to secure rental properties have fallen prey to an elaborate scam, leaving them thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Sophie Gibbons, 24, joined popular Facebook property listings community Fairy Floss in the hope of leasing a rental property in Melbourne as she moved there from Townsville.

On August 24, Sophie saw a posting on the page for a ‘perfect’ one-bedroom apartment in Queens Road, Melbourne, and quickly contacted the person who posted the ad.

Sophie said the entry was ‘not suspicious at all’.

“He sounded quite sincere and he told me he was going to work in the mines,” Sophie said. 7NEWS.

The man, Andrew (not his real name), said he was not the landlord but wanted to move out and transfer his lease to someone else.

A date was arranged for Sophie’s partner to inspect the property, with the landlord meeting him there.

Stephen Irvine, 27, also saw the man’s post on Facebook and sent him a message expressing his interest.

Sophie’s partner and Stephen both inspected the property on August 27, about 30 minutes apart.

They both met a man with a different name than the one they initially contacted.

This man, Greg (not his real name), told Sophie’s partner that he was the landlord, but he told Stephen that he was Andrew’s boyfriend.

Stephen said he had been able to bond with Greg as he had also moved to Australia from Britain.

“He seemed about the same age as me and seemed like a normal guy, so I think we kind of bonded in that way,” Stephen told 7NEWS.

Sophie’s partner also reported that Greg seemed like a normal person and could not see any obvious ‘red flags’.

Both Sophie and Stephen expressed an interest in securing the unit and were given an email address to contact, believed to belong to the man on inspection.

Just days later, they were both notified that they were successful applicants and sent a lease for signature, after which they both paid $3,000 up front – a $1,500 security deposit and $1,500 for the first month’s rent.

But when they tried to collect the keys to the property, alarm bells went off.

Stephen arranged to meet Greg at the unit on September 4, but was never given details of what time he would meet.

Stephen emailed the man, who then immediately apologized, claiming he was involved in a family emergency.

Greg asked Stephen to go to the apartment another day to pick up the keys, but Stephen began to worry that something was “suspicious.”

‘I had contacted the bank and gone to the police and while I was reporting the fraud to the bank, Greg had sent me an email saying, ‘Yes, can you meet me today for the keys to the apartment ?’

However, as soon as Stephen tried to arrange a time, Greg stopped answering and never heard from him again.

Sophie’s partner had arranged to meet Greg at the apartment on September 6, but Greg never showed up.

Sophie tried to call the man, but the number was disconnected.

After realizing something was wrong, Sophie decided to look up the property on Google and quickly discovered that it was actually being used as an Airbnb.

Sophie saw that the apartment had only just been listed for rent online by a real estate company and when she called the real estate agent, she was told that she had fallen for a scam, which had also affected others.

“My partner called the property company and said, ‘We’ve only just put it on the market, it used to be an Airbnb and a lot of people have been calling about this property,’” Sophie said.

It’s understood the scammer booked the Airbnb for a month between August 7 and 31, during which they used it to stage fake rental inspections.

Stephen has reported the incident to the police and is working with the bank to get his money back.

Sophie also tried to get her money back, but was unsuccessful.

Victoria Police are aware of the scam involving the Queens Road property and say the unit has been used in a ‘series of rental frauds in Melbourne’.

They have issued a public appeal for any information and have released CCTV footage of a man they believe can assist the investigation.

Sophie and Stephen both said the man on the CCTV footage was Greg.

The man is believed to frequent the South Melbourne and St Kilda areas and is described as being in his 30s, 180cm tall, with short dark brown hair and a Liverpool accent.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.

We all love a good joke. Catching someone off guard, startling them or misleading them into fear or bewilderment: it all amounts to good-natured fun and entertainment, unfettered by the constraints of language, culture and location. Time itself can be bent by the same confused look you get when you play with someone else’s sensibilities.

Unfortunately, our one time of year, Halloween, seems to focus more on the treat part than the much-vaunted and potentially viral practical joke trick. But just because there was no Halloween and no TikTok doesn’t mean the past is dry and humorless.

Here are ten of the most elaborate practical jokes from the 1900s.

Related: Top 10 hilarious pranks pulled to promote movies

10 Ghost student

In 1927, George P. Burdell enrolled at Georgia Tech. He wrote for the school newspaper and for decades George spent his days in the establishment, until he finally graduated with flying colors. The point is that George P. Burdell does not exist and never existed.

When William Edgar Smith was accidentally sent two registration forms, he decided to register UGA football captain George P. Butler, but used Burdell as his last name instead.

Over the years he completed two of each of his assignments, helping the fictional Burdell pass with flying colors and even earn a degree in mechanical engineering. Since then, the Burdell character has achieved many feats, piloting a B-17 bomber in World War II and participating in subsequent wars, traveling the world and receiving letters for basketball. He even served on the board of directors of MAD magazine.^[2]

9 Giant steak

If there’s one thing Seattle Mariners fans love more than baseball, it’s steak. Huge steaks weighing 544 kilos, living, breathing, and… well, you get the idea. When Lou Piniella, the coach, made a bet with Ken Griffey Jr. that he wouldn’t be able to hit a certain pitch out of the batting cage on the first day of live pitching. Griffey took the bet, swung and missed, losing the bet. He now owed Piniella a steak dinner.

Griffey, true to his word, decided to turn the tables and pull a prank. When Piniella went to his office in Peoria, Arizona, he found more than he bargained for. A fully grown, live Hereford cow, underprepared and uncooked. Piniella took the joke with a smile. According to reports, a sheep was also tied up for training at one point.^[2]

8 Spaghetti trees

If you want proof that people have always believed whatever they read and that it’s not just a problem of the modern age, remind yourself that people believed there were trees that could grow spaghetti. That’s not a metaphor. In 1957, the BBC published an article about farmers in Switzerland growing spaghetti-like fruit.

It was intended as nothing more than a harmless April Fool’s joke, with the producers giving the crew a budget of £100 to make a fun, practical joke. It resulted in unexpected hysteria. The segment was filmed in Castiglione for authenticity, where the crew bought 9kg of uncooked spaghetti and hung the strands from branches to make it look like they were ‘spaghetti trees’.

There was an unexpected fallout as a result of their antics, with the BBC immersed in phone calls demanding explanations. Some realized it was a joke and turned their outrage on the broadcaster.^[3]

7 Indecent naked animals

When comedian Buck Henry founded an organization (coined by Alan Abel) called the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals (SINA), he wanted nothing more than a few laughs from it. What he told the audience was that SINA’s mission was to give animals clothes to protect their modesty, you know, because that’s important. Performances as “G. Clifford Prout,” he was a man anointed to clothe every living thing. A naked horse is a rude horse.

The campaign was a success, receiving letters of support and even offers for large checks after appearing on popular shows like NBC’s Today Toon. Thousands of viewers responded, and more interviews and publicity followed before he began urging his members (which he suggested had grown to more than 50,000) to take a more active stance by serving summonses on people who shamelessly leave their pets around naked make you dance. The hoax was finally exposed a few years later.^[4]

6 Iceberg Down Under

When millionaire Dick Smith told the world he would tow an iceberg from the Arctic Circle, people had no reason to doubt him. He had the means. What should have aroused suspicion was the time of year. On April 1, Smith came along and towed an iceberg from Antarctica all the way to Sydney Harbour, where people enjoyed the obscene waste of resources. Smith promised to cut the giant iceberg into smaller cubes and sell them as natural ‘Dicksicles’, which would improve the taste of any drink.

It turned out that Smith had roped in a few of his friends, rented a boat and filled it with a plastic tarp, shaving cream and firefighting cream. The whole prank cost him a paltry $1,450 of his fortune. Everything for kicks.^[5]

5 Major Rose Bowl hoax

In what is considered the biggest hoax of its kind, the Rose Bowl Hoax stands out as one of the greats of the sport. It was 1961 and the Washington Huskies were about to beat the #1 Minnesota Gophers, but all that remained of that day was the great Rose Bowl Hoax.

Created by Lyn Hardy, a small group of Caltech students changed the University of Washington’s halftime flip-card routine so that it would spell “CALTECH,” cementing the moment in the history book of hoaxes.

After learning that the band and cheerleaders had been moved into dormitories, Hardy appeared as a reporter for the Dorsey High student newspaper. The cheerleaders who organized the flip card routine shared the technical details. With a healthy dose of duplicity and lock-picking and a good dose of luck, the joke became reality.^[6]

4 Thrower monk

Most of us are bewildered by the monks and their meditative antics, disciplined and distant. Therefore, it is easy to believe that a monk can program his body and mind to hit the perfect shot. When readers their Sports illustrated on April 1, 1985, that was exactly what was promised.

Sidd Finch – part pitcher, part yogi – played brass instruments and looked like Disney characters when he threw. Sidd was touted to change the landscape of the baseball world with an arm like a cannon. His ability to throw a ball at 270 km/h generated all the interest.

The subtitle of the article was: ‘He’s a pitcher, part yogi and part hermit. Impressively freed from our lavish lifestyle, Sidds decided on yoga – and his future in baseball.” Each of the words read: HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY.^[7]

3 War of the Worlds

HG Welles wrote an otherworldly masterpiece that has been translated into cinema on numerous occasions over the years, but there was a time not so long ago when the story had not found its way into our common collective fictional lore.

On Halloween morning of 1938, Orson Welles and his crew assembled a radio edit of Welles’ The War of the Worldsturning the old novel into fake news bulletins detailing an alien invasion of New Jersey.

Some listeners, seized by the moment, began terrified to call local police, newspaper offices and radio stations, convinced by mass hysteria. By the next publication, the story had made headlines, and reports of mass stampedes and suicides angered listeners who threatened to shoot Welles on the spot.^[8]

2 Sokal’s hoax

The hoax, also known as the Sokal affair, involved a university, a genius and a sense of right and wrong. In late 1994, realizing that the quality of published work had at some point declined, he submitted a mock article to the journal Cultural Studies. Social textin which he touched on some topics from physics and mathematics, drawing on various cultural, philosophical and political morals that he estimated would be considered fashionable by the academic commentators.

The magazine did not detect the ironic nature of the article and published it. Later, Sokal revealed that the article was a hoax, drawing public attention to what Sokal perceived as a decline in standards of accuracy in the academic community.^[9]

1 Home for Christmas

Baby Jesus disappeared! From the nativity scene, that is. In January 1994, when Ted Laspe took down the nativity scene to decorate it for the holidays, he realized that his baby Jesus was no longer there. In its place was a printed message: ‘I’m going on holiday. I’ll see you on my birthday.” What followed was nothing short of hoax genius.

Weeks later, Laspe received cards and photos from all over the country: Salt Lake City, Vegas, Colorado and even Alaska. Baby Jesus was having the time of his life with ever-changing handwriting. So Laspe devised an elaborate plan to capture the kidnappers. However, he died after receiving the last card at the hospital. Laspe’s wife, Elizabeth, received another note: “Hello Liz, I took some time off to make sure Ted is settled in. He is doing well.”

Baby Jesus was returned by taxi on Christmas Eve at 6 p.m.^[10]

Glamorous revellers donned their finery as they headed to Royal Ascot for the penultimate day of racing today.

Dressed to the nines in towering heels and sky-high fascinators as racegoers posed in the glorious June sunshine ahead of the day of racing.

Many of the ladies attending chose to make the most of the relaxed dress code rules by opting to wear suits and trousers.

Elsewhere, many clutched onto drinks and basked in the sunshine while hoping their horses might win the race. 

One pair opted for fruit-themed dresses, with prints of strawberries and cherries, which they matched with fascinators.

Rosie Tapner was the first of the famous faces to arrive, looking gorgeous in a Lisa Redman dress with Boodles jewellery.

Elsewhere, former Prime Minister David Cameron and his designer wife Samantha attended, in a silky green dress from her own brand Cefinn. 

The royal family has been out in force at the event this week, with King Charles, Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and Princess Beatrice, and Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi, 38, all attending.

Zara and Mike Tindall, as well as the King’s cousins Viscount Linely and Sarah Chatto have also been spotted at the event.

Many of the female dressers made the most of the relaxed new rules – which allows people to dress from male and female dress codes regardless of their gender – with women in trousers and three-piece suits.

While others opted for plunging necklines and teetering heels which will no doubt be kicked off as the festivities continue.

Yesterday the action hotted up as the champagne flowed and guests got very merry into the night. 

As the drinks kept coming and revellers began celebrating their wins, they began to loosen up and lark about with each other, in good spirits on a sunny day.

Among the scenes of revellers who were heading home after a day of partying were savvy women who had ditched their high heels in favour of sensible flat shoes to travel home in, as well as a gentleman who had picked up some snacks to tide him over for the evening. 

Today will prove no different with the Prince and Princess of Wales expected to join Charles and Camilla in the royal procession.

They weren’t the only ones who were getting into the party spirit at the event however – with many revellers opting to pop the champagne and lap up the atmosphere at the racecourse. 

Sabrina Elba, the actress wife of superstar Idris Elba, has also been spotted at the event, in a Kate Middleton-inspired white Self Portrait dress suit and beret, which costs £710.

Other celebrities at the event included TV stars Charlotte Hawkins and Louise Roe, who were sure to command attention in green and blue dresses. 

Stylish attendees made for a colourful and glamorous display as they arrived at the racecourse earlier for another day of nail-biting races and plenty of partying.

Many opted for wild and wonderful outfits for the occasion, with some taking advantage of this year’s updated dress-code which permits women to wear trousers.

This year, organisers of the race have paid tribute to Royal Ascot’s ‘biggest fan’, Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away last September.

During her 70-year reign, Her late Majesty attended almost every single Royal Ascot festival, with the exception of last year.

This year, organisers have displayed a heartwarming collection of photos of the Queen visiting Ascot over the years.

They include a black-and-white photo of the royal riding on the tracks in 1960 when she was 34 years old. 

The mother-of-four was pictured with a headscarf and riding boots on on as her horse galloped along the track.

The Queen was taking part in an unofficial race with others members of her royal party and ended up finishing fourth. 

What’s more, the organisers also selecting a photograph of the Queen beaming at Ladies Day in 2013. 

The event turned out to be one of the Queen’s most successful Ascots as her horse Estimate won the Gold Cup – making her the first monarch in 200 years to scoop the prize.

The late royal was pictured beaming at her trophy, which was presented to her by her son Prince Andrew. 

The Queen was dressed in one of her signature coat dresses in a pretty shade of purple. 

Underneath her jacket, the monarch wore a pretty floral dress – which perfectly complimented the flowers on her hat. 

In the image, the Queen is seen wearing a three-strand pearl necklace – which she also wore to her final ever Ascot in June 2021.