Gardaí: Be wary of fraudsters

The public are being urged to be wary of rental scams particularly at this time of year as students begin to return to college.

While accommodation frauds have declined in recent months due to Covid-19 restrictions, gardaí recently highlighted that the new generation of third level students seeking accommodation could be a target for fraudsters.

Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Gardaí National Economic Crime Bureau gave the following advice: “You should only use recognised letting agencies or deal with people who are bona fida and trusted. Websites can be cloned, check the URL to ensure it’s a real website and take note of the privacy and refund policy sections.”

He added: “Be very wary of social media advertisements or where a person letting the location will only communicate via messenger or WhatsApp.

“You should push for direct answers and if responses are vague disengage immediately.”

Detective Superintendent Cryan also said to watch out for unsolicited contacts or where the contact appears to be based in other jurisdictions and especially if there is a sense of urgency like a one-time offer.

“If you have decided to take up the offer only use trusted money transfer systems, I would recommend using a credit card. Never transfer money direct, pay cash, pay into cryptocurrency wallets,” he said.

Be wary if a website is asking you to send money to a random PayPal address, wire it by Western Union, pay in iTunes gift cards or only deals in cryptocurrency. The majority of the time, those methods are done to avoid scrutiny and ensure that a transaction can’t be reversed.

There were 503 cases of rental scams reported to An Garda Síochána between 1 February 2019 and 31 May 2021.