A Brazilian student was conned out of €6,000 for a deposit and month’s rent for an apartment, only to discover another 12 people were given keys to the same property.
The case of Levi Amarilo, who fell victim to the complex scam was highlighted by housing charity Threshold, in collaboration with the Irish Council for International Students (ICOS), as part of the new Scamwatch campaign to raise awareness of the issue in advance of the new academic year.
Hundreds of students are targeted annually by false landlords and scammers seeking to con them by offering accommodation units and properties that they either pretend to be renting or do not exist at all.
Levi Amarilo and his partner originally moved into an apartment in Rathmines but when his brother decided to move to Ireland, he was offered another apartment for €3,000 on the river Liffey. After viewing the property, they paid €6,000 for deposit and a month’s rent.
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Just two days after moving in, however, the student woke to find 12 people from various countries in his front room, after the “landlord” gave them all keys to move in on the same day before fleeing the country.
Despite involvement from An Garda Síochána, no refunds were issued because the scammer had left the jurisdiction.
This situation is not uncommon, according to Threshold. False websites are reportedly becoming an increasingly common platform for scams, as well as websites that appear as replicas of real letting platforms like Daft.ie and Airbnb.
“Threshold is increasingly aware of a surge of rental scams, particularly in advance of the academic period, with students unfortunately being easy targets. In a highly competitive, low supply rental market, scams are on the rise,” John-Mark McCafferty, Threshold’s chief executive, said.
“We strongly encourage any student or renter who is unsure if they are being scammed to contact our advisers for free advice and support,” he said.
Executive director of ICOS, Laura Hermon, said they strongly support the campaign, given the growing nature of fraudulent rental cases involving international students.
“A study that ICOS carried out last year involving almost 500 international students found that nearly one-in-seven (14 per cent) said that they had been a victim of an accommodation scam while in Ireland, of whom a quarter were English language students,” Ms Hermon said.
She added that these students are often more vulnerable as English is not their first language.
Threshold and ICOS compiled a list of dos and don’ts for students to consider when organising accommodation as part of the campaign.
This list includes insisting on inspecting the property in person, asking for a contract, not sharing personal information online or use unsecured payment methods.
