Renters conned out of Deposits
Renters have been conned out of deposits again in a scam which has not been seen in a few years. The con goes like this; Renters reply to an advert for a property to rent and after viewing the property and agreeing to rent it, they pay the “landlord” a deposit. In some cases they pay the deposit and the 1st months’ rent. They agree a date to move in to the property and receive a set of keys. But when they go to move in, the keys do not open the property.
In many cases they meet other people at the property who have also paid money to the “landlord” and have keys that do not open the property. The con artist is not actually the landlord. They have access to the property and place an advert to let it. They collect as many deposits and rents as they can and then disappear with all the money. The prospective tenants have no come back as the person is gone, usually they have left the country.
A few people have been made homeless due to this recent scam with no way of having their money returned. It is very difficult to be sure if a person showing a property is in fact the actual landlord. You usually to not have much time to decide to rent a property or to check out the person, as the property will be let to someone else if you delay. Explaining that you are concerned due to this recent scam and asking for identification would be a good start. Genuine landlords should not a problem providing you with some comfort once you explain the reason for your concern.
You could pay a small holding deposit and meet them the next day with the balance of the deposit where the landlord could produce a copy of their receipt for the Local Property tax or receipts from previously registering the tenancies with the PRTB. The identification should match the names on these receipts. Although this is still not 100% safe, it should reduce your risk of being conned.
Another way to avoid this scam is to rent through a reputable letting agent who will be licenced by the Property Services Regulatory Authority. The agent will identification issued by the PSRA and you have complaints procedures should you have any problems.