Family safety

How to avoid scams when moving abroad

The schemes relocating families fall for most often, the signs, and what to do. Free, no sign-up.

🛡️ re:ROOTS golden rule: re:ROOTS never messages first about money, never exchanges currency and never asks for SMS codes. If "we" do — it isn't us.

Three rules

1
Don't pay strangers upfront: meet, sign or view first.
2
Exchange money only at trusted places, never in DMs or via bots.
3
Never send document scans or SMS codes to anyone.

Check a message

Paste a suspicious message — we'll show signs of known scams. We don't store the text.

Schemes

Currency exchange in DMs or via a bot

Scam

They message you first after a question in a chat and send you to a fake site or bot.

Signs
  • "Best rate", "zero fee", "we're licensed"
  • They rush you and ask you to transfer first
🛡️ Exchange at a bank or a bureau with an address. Not in DMs.

A flat that doesn't exist

Scam

Cheap, nice housing, the owner is "abroad", a "helper" will hand over the keys.

Signs
  • Payment before viewing
  • Photos from other listings, refuses a video call
🛡️ Video viewing and a contract first, check the owner, reverse-search the photos.

"Help with documents"

Scam

They promise a residence permit or a consulate slot "with no queue, we have connections".

Signs
  • A 100% guarantee
  • They ask for passport scans and payment to a personal card
🛡️ The authority decides, not a middleman. Find verified specialists in Services.

Easy side job

Scam

"Meet tourists", "hand over keys", "receive a transfer to your card".

Signs
  • Lots of money for a simple task
  • They ask you to receive or forward someone's money
🛡️ Say no: this makes you an accomplice or a money mule. Don't lend your card or account.

Fake service provider

Scam

A nanny, handyman, guide or seller asks for prepayment and disappears.

Signs
  • Full prepayment before meeting
  • No reviews or verification, rushes you
🛡️ A contract, the price agreed upfront, pay after the job or in stages.

Pushy consultants

Scam

They charge many times more for a free or cheap public service.

Signs
  • A price above the official fee with no explanation
🛡️ Check the fee on the Country screen — it's there with the official source.
Emergency action

If you were scammed

1
Stop
Don't send anything else and ignore requests to "pay a bit more to get it back".
2
Save the evidence
Screenshots of the chat, profile, numbers, links and transfer receipts — before they're deleted.
3
Call your bank
Right away. Ask to block the card and dispute the payment (chargeback) — the sooner, the better the chances.
4
Report it to the police
The bank needs the report, and so does restoring documents. Where to go — see Services on the Country screen.
5
Tell us
Your report helps warn other families. Don't send documents or scans.