A would-be fraudster posing as a landlord has been using a letting agent’s photos to advertise a property they do not own.
The case sounds very similar case to the one reported by EYE earlier this month, which saw an estate agent warn about online fraudsters offering properties already on the market at reduced rates.
In this latest case, letting agency McCartan Lettings warned that scammers were active in the Swansea area.
The advertisers showcase properties at a lower rate than local agents on sites such as Facebook, Gumtree and Airbnb and request deposits and rent upfront once they have lured unsuspecting tenants in with the agents’ own marketing photos.
McCartan Lettings’ managing director Hannah McCartan told www.walesonline.co.uk: “We have been made aware by a concerned member of the public that an online fraudster is running a scam on one of our properties here in Swansea, using our marketing photos and advertising it as a private let.
“She was told by the fraudster that he didn’t live locally, but that she could view the property by looking through the windows.
“Thankfully, this rang alarm bells for her, and she contacted us to see if the landlord was also marketing it privately, which we have confirmed is not the case.
“Some would-be tenants prefer to deal directly with the landlord, saving money on referencing and admin costs.
“One of the benefits of working with a reputable letting agent is that the landlord is also checked to ensure the tenants are protected against imposter landlords – people who claim to own the property, but don’t.
“We are urging all private tenants to do basic due diligence referencing on their prospective landlords before parting with any money.”
This might be harsh, but anyone being duped by this sort of fraud really needs to look at themselves. The potential tenants turning up to be shown round, but oh wait the landlord doesnt have the keys, but it’s ok you can look through the windows. Being asked to hand money over before arranging a viewing etc….Fraud is awful, and it effects many people in many ways, but we all have to look at ourselves first and ask if there are things that we could do to stop falling victim to it.
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With the fee ban this will be set to increase as the criminals will take more advantage. Our foolish politicians will not see this until it happens.
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I am afraid people are that stupid and will then turn to the internet to vent their anger….and then it will be used as a hammer to justify the current witch hunt on the world of landlords. Firstly, as you say ArthurHouse, people need to be responsible for their initial actions and if you send money without viewing a property, that is the sign of a reckless person, but we know that people do it with their African prince friends! Even the agents can police their own stock…especially those who are on top of their market. Don’t underestimate the power of self policing, a skill lost in today’s blame everyone else culture. Then formal intervention from authorities can be carried out, especially as this will lead to many other linked criminals.
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Happened with us too. You can get a mobile phone sim for a £1 and put that no. with a new email and you have a Gumtree account. The property had been let and tenant moved in at £1200PCM. The fraudster had put it up for £800 bills included. Would not attend calls and only reply via text message . Reported a few incidents to Gumtree. Then just left it as it was consuming too much of a time chasing these scums
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