Student Accommodation Scam

With a ‘A’ Levels results out and students securing university places please forward this advice to students looking for university accommodation.

Scams work by offering to let property in prime areas at below market rents and asking for deposits, or in some cases full
payment upfront in order to secure the property prior to visiting it.

Prospective tenants are convinced to part with either credit card details, cheques or cash before seeing the property, which then
turn out not to exist. Payments are then not returned and the student cannot get in contact with the supposed “landlord”.

There have also been occasions whereby fraudsters gain access to properties and take prospective tenants around, portraying the
property to be vacant and under their control. In other cases the fraudsters are purporting to rent out property that does not exist,
has already been rented out, or has been rented to multiple victims at the same time.