A 20-year-old woman was the subject of fraud when she transferred €7,400 to someone she believed was the landlord of a property but later discovered the home was never for rent, according to gardaí.
Officers have issued a warning about rental scams as students scramble to find accommodation ahead of the academic year.
In another case a 20-year-old woman travelled to the Netherlands to obtain the keys for the rented property there, but the landlord failed to meet her, ignored her phone calls and ultimately blocked her number.
“She subsequently learned the property was never up for rent,” gardai said.
In another case, a 30-year-old man viewed a digital letting agency and was sent what he believed was a contract via email, which he signed and paid a total of €4,000 for a property in Dublin.
The lease was agreed to start on July 1st, 2023. When the man went to the property, there was nobody there and he was unable to contact the landlord.
Elsewhere, a 25-year-old woman transferred €1,200 over the app Revolut for a first month’s rent after responding to an advertisement regarding an apartment – but no keys were ever provided.
Gardai also released details of a case study regarding a 28-year-old woman looking for a seasonal rental who contacted an agent with a UK-registered number via WhatsApp.
The agent requested a deposit of €1,236 which was transferred to a bank with a French international bank account number (IBAN).
The woman was then unable to make further contact with the agent.
A 21-year-old woman posted on Facebook that she was seeking student accommodation in Cork and received correspondence from a third party with what she believed was a suitable apartment.
The agent requested a deposit of €800 to secure the accommodation.
Since making the transfer she has not received keys to the apartment or any correspondence from the agent.
All these incidents were reported to gardai in July of this year.
One third of all accommodation fraud reports occur during August and September each year, with 50 per cent of incidents occurring in Dublin.
Despite figures showing an 8 per cent fall at the June for accomodation fraud, there was an 38 per cent increase in accommodation fraud 2022 compared to 2021.
Over 50 per cent of victims of accommodation fraud are aged under 25, with €2 million stolen in accommodation fraud in last five years.
Gardaí are asking people to not agree to rent a property without viewing it, ensure the property is registered with the Residential Tenancies Board, meet the landlord for a tour of the accomodation and check Google Maps to see that the property is the same as that advertised.
Potential renters are advised to obtain a payment receipt and a tenancy agreement and not to pay by cash.
Gardaí say people should report any incident of suspected fraud to their local garda station. You should also report suspected fraud to your bank and ask to do a recall as soon as possible.
