Longford Gardaí issue warning over accommodation fraud

On Tuesday, May 2, a woman reported to gardaí at Ballymahon that she paid €1,200 on two separate occasions during April 2023 totaling €2,400 to a bank account thinking she was paying a deposit on an apartment in the Athlone area of Co Westmeath.

She found the apartment through booking.com and it is believed to be a false address. The advertisement has since been taken down.

Roscommon Longford Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Damian Bartley is advising people that before engaging in a financial transaction to pay down a deposit and/or rent, that you see the property first and establish that the person renting it owns and has access to the property.

Sgt Bartley added, "It is advisable to use an ESCROW account where possible to ensure funds are not released until you are certain that it is a legitimate transaction. Where you believe you have been a victim of such a fraud, please report to your local Garda station.

Sgt Bartley said accommodation scams fall into three broad categories: 

1. the scammer claims to be out of the country and can’t show you the property and requests a deposit 

2. the scammer is living at the property and shows a number of people around, gets a deposit from several people and disappears with the money;

 3. the transaction appears normal until the renter finds that the keys don’t work and the landlord has disappeared. Therefore people need to establish that the house exists and that is available for rent and the identity of landlord /agent & is he/she authorised to rent the property.