A landlord group has expressed its concern over online scam property viewings taking place across the UK.
Issuing a warning to consumers, the Residential Landlords Association has stated that the scam can often have significant financial consequences for the consumer and urges them to be alert to the risk.
The Association states that a fraudster will post an attractive advert for a property on a website such as Gumtree, requesting money in exchange for a viewing. However, it says that when the prospective tenant calls to organise the viewing, the fraudster will state that a deposit should be secured. This is because the alleged ‘landlord’ lives outside of the area. When the funds have been transferred, the scammer ceases correspondence with the person hoping to view the property.
The warning from the RLA has been sparked by a number of calls received from worried landlords regarding this kind of scam, who have since contacted Gumtree demanding that visible warnings are published on the site.
It urges consumers to be extra vigilant, particularly as some scammers have even taken the RLA’s DepositGuard Logo and placed it on their website; for prospective tenants, this could ease any previous worries over the site’s legitimacy.
Commenting on the scams was Andrew Goodacre. The RLA’s Chief Executive stated: ‘We would like to make it clear that no genuine landlord will ever ask for money to secure a viewing. Often the victims in this type of fraud are young foreign students, who have limited knowledge of how the rental market works in the UK.
‘The fact that our DepositGuard logo is being used in this manner is something we are taking extremely seriously and we have approached Gumtree asking for clear warnings about scams of this type to be included on its website.’
Gumtree stated: “We do not tolerate fraud on our site. Our dedicated safety team identifies and removes scammers operating on Gumtree. We encourage anyone who falls victim to a scam to report it to us, the police and Action Fraud. We require that all Property ads on our site comply with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) requirements and all government regulations for property advertising. We recommend that all potential tenants check the relevant paperwork, ask to see proof of ownership before paying deposits or holding fees, and ensure a tenancy agreement is in place. Extensive safety advice for tenants and landlords can be found on the Gumtree Help Centre at the Staying Safe in Property page.”
