Latest online fraud craze targets students and foreign tourists

The latest online fraud craze has hit students and foreign tourists while they are at their most vulnerable.

A new type of internet fraud has been reported on a large scale, as criminals have come up with a new method for to stealing their victims money, and the focus seems to be on students and tourists looking to rent properties, particularly in sought-after areas for a lower than average rental costs.

The fraudsters have been taking advantage of the surge in students looking to move into rented properties as the new university year begins, by offering properties that don't exist or are owned by someone else then demanding a full deposit, or in some cases rent payment, upfront. For many students this year is the first time they have had to deal with renting a property, making them vulnerable targets for this type of fraud.

Police have received a high volume of complaints regarding online property advertisements with similar scenarios, whereby unsuspecting proposed tenants are persuaded to part with bank account or credit card details before going to view a property, which it later emerges never even existed. Meanwhile, the fraudster disappears, along with the cash you put up.

Tom Wolfe, a student studying for a masters degree in Leicester, backed out of a deal that he was close to completing after becoming suspicious about what was being asked of him.

"I had shown interest in a house in a nice area of Leicester and what I found very appealing was the cost of the monthly rent – significantly lower than the average price for the area. To begin with I thought it was an error but after contacting the landlord via email, he assured me that it was in fact correct. It all seemed fine at first," said Wolfe, 25.

"But shortly after, I received another email from him, requesting proof that I had enough money to cover the deposit. He said he lived in Manchester and asked to meet half way, in Chesterfield, to hand over more that £800 as a deposit. After this email I decided not to reply as sounded very dodgy," he said.

But recent reports have shown that not everyone was fortunate as Mr Wolfe, as many failed to notice that things didn't add up, and many students and foreign tourists have given large amounts of cash to 'so called' landlords.

Some highly respected websites such as Gumtree and Vivastreet have been investigating advertisements that have caused suspicion, as well as carrying out random checks on a number of their advertisers. But some fraudsters have been able to slip through the net, as they are unable to check every single property advertised on the sites

Similar reports show that these types of scams are growing across the rest of the UK, with London said to be a hot-spot for bogus landlords. The Metropolitan Police was provided with details of the scam in July but did not act on it until recently, after being contacted by the Observer.

Many victims have arrived at genuine addresses expecting to move into their new home only to find that the property is already occupied. The Observer was handed an email correspondence between someone by the name of Henry Boyate of London Nice Apartments and a Maltese woman who handed over £700 to the company in July.

Howard Elegant from Illinois organised an apartment through London Summer Apartments in April. He was also contacted by Boyate.

"In emails this Henry Boyate encouraged me to use Western Union to transfer the rent and security deposit," he said. "He told me it would speed up my reservation, but I opted for a wire transfer between banks because it was much less costly." Elegant transferred £1,030 from his savings account to Boyate's account.

It was not until Boyate claimed the money had not gone through that Elegant became suspicious. "He kept sending me emails telling me to use Western Union to send the money again and then asked for an extra £210 booking fee which I told him I wouldn't send because it wasn't part of the original agreement," he said.

After checking his account, he found that the £1,030 payment had in fact been credited to the account. "I realised we had been conned and noticed other clues such as Boyate's UK phone number which looked like a landline but was in fact a mobile phone."

Elegant tried to retrieve his money, but failed. "My bank was very helpful and sent an inquiry to NatWest but by this time the account had been closed."

This is another stark reminder that fraudsters are constantly coming up with new ways in order to prosper from unsuspecting victims.

Written by Sam Gooch