Issue Date: 12th September 2022
An Garda Síochána in Cork are advising the public, in particular third level students, to be wary of accommodation fraud in the Cork City Division.
On Saturday, 3rd September, 2022, Gardaí in Cork City met with a female (French national) who was reportedly the victim of accommodation fraud.
She had just arrived in Ireland from France as she was due to start in a Cork college on the following Monday morning.
Prior to coming to Cork she had posted on a Facebook group looking for accommodation. She was messaged by a male who informed her his landlord had a room for rent. He provided her with the details of the landlord who is French-Irish and his phone number which was also French. She proceeded to contact him and after some discussion paid him via bank transfer over €3000 for a deposit and 2 months rent.
She transferred this money from her French bank account to his bank account. When she arrived at the rental property the door was answered by a resident there who said there was no room for rent and that the name she had was not the name of the landlord.
There have been 26 incidents of accommodation fraud reported in the Cork City Division to date in 2022 with a reported loss to injured parties of €60,000.
These losses have included domestic incidents and also incidents from this jurisdiction to another.
For example, a student was going on an Erasmus exchange to Spain and sent an online deposit of €1,500 which proved fraudulent. Another person in May was seeking a holiday home in Portugal and lost over €8,700 through a fraudulent site. In June another person was also looking for holiday accommodation and sent €10,000 to a company and when the communication stopped, a Google search of the company name linked fraudulent activity reported by others.
There were two separate incidents in Cork City whereby students paid out €2,200 and another student €1,200 as a deposit for the same premises in Cork that did not exist. Another injured party paid over €2,800 as a deposit for a property and the house had been sold to new owners.
Red Flags/Warning Signs:
- When the landlord is unable to meet up to show you the property in person
- When communication is only through text/WhatsApp or another social media platform. Beware of cloned sites
- When the property is offered with no questions asked and payment demanded immediately before signing the lease
- When you are asked to pay cash, cryptocurrency or money via a non-bank transfer (such as wire transfer).
Check List:
- Never agree to rent a property without first having the opportunity to view it
- Do not hand over cash. Insist upon a proper receipt
- Ensure that the keys work and you have proper contact details for the landlord/agent.
How To Stay Safer:
- Only use recognised agencies or deal with trusted people
- Be wary of people who will only communicate via WhatsApp and social media
- Do not pay for long-term accommodation through short term letting sites.
Please find attached link to media release and advice of Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan, Garda National Economic Crime Bureau: http://www.garda.ie/!CE661V
