Rental scams on the rise
Hopeful renters on Leeside have been scammed out of thousands of euro with accommodation fraud dubbed as “very prevalent” and a “big scam” by a senior garda this week.
In some cases, renters have been sent keys to properties but when they arrive to move in, the keys don’t work and there are already people living there. A Cork City Joint Policing Committee (JPC) meeting heard this week that many of the properties were never for rent.
20 incidents of accommodation fraud have been reported in the Cork City Garda Division from 1 January-1 June with a loss of €24,154. People have been scammed out of various amounts from €450 to one person being scammed out of €5,312.
Crime Prevention Officer with the Cork City Division, Sergeant Brian McSweeney, gave an overview of popular scams that people should watch out for and tips on how to prevent being scammed out of money during the online JPC meeting.
He said: “Accommodation fraud is a big scam at the moment here in Cork where people are advertising on social media and those type of platforms that there are properties to rent. When people go looking, the property is not available at all.
“Make sure the keys fit when you get them as people have been sent keys and when they rock up to the house, there are people, like families, living in the house already. The house is occupied and was never for rent. This type of fraud is very prevalent in Cork city.”
Sergeant McSweeney said a scammer might claim to be out of the country and can’t show the property but request a deposit for the rental property. He said to make sure that the property exists, identify and meet the property owner onsite, use a bank draft for the deposit and ensure the keys fit before signing any contract.
Meanwhile Sergeant McSweeney also revealed figures for three othe types of fraud that have an online element. Account take over fraud - where cybercriminals gain access to a victim’s login credentials to steal funds or information – is on the rise over the past few years. Up until 31 May this year, 25 incidents were reported while there were 22 for all of 2020 and 20 in 2019.
There were 54 phishing, vishing and smishing reports up 31 May, with 26 in total for 2020 and 20 for 2019.
18 shopping and online auction fraud reports have been reported up until 31 May, 42 in 2020 and 18 in 2019.
Sergeant McSweeney recommended installed reliable and trusted antivirus and browser security software. He said not to use the same password for all activity. Avoid using addresses, date of births or phone numbers as passwords while also added that the best password is alpha-numeric, using letters and numbers with at least eight characters in length.