Rental Scam Hits Tenants in Big Cities

Online rental scams are on the increase, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau has warned. It is dealing with 95 complaints – half from London, but with cities in the north-east also targeted. Many victims are students or new graduates starting their first jobs. The scam works when a rental advert is placed online, apparently by a letting agent or landlord. The property is ‘virtually’ or sometimes physically viewed and the ‘tenant’ signs a rental contract and agrees to pay a deposit plus a month’s rent in advance. Funds are paid by Western Union or Money Gram. In reality the property does not exist, has already been rented, or has been rented to multiple victims at the same time. Fraud police point out that there is very little regulation as to who can advertise online. They are warning tenants not to try and rent properties they have not physically seen, to check landlords’ and agents’ credentials, and to only transfer money straight into the landlord’s or agent’s own bank account –a traceable transaction. Police, who are keen to push the rental scam message as widely as possible, believe many of the conmen are from abroad.