Landlords and letting agents are being warned by official bodies to be vigilant against payment diversion fraud within the private rented sector.

This kind of criminal activity involves fraudsters hacking into corporate email accounts and then inserting themselves into transactions using fake email addresses, contacting tenants and then requesting payment of deposits or rent in advance to their bank account and the disappearing.

And while this kind of fraud is most common within the property sales market – Action Fraud reveals 143 cases over the past 12 months during which £11.7 million was stolen – and the Government agency says police forces are now reporting similar activity within the rental sector.

Detective Superintendent Oliver Little (main inamge), from the Lead Force Operations Room at the City of London Police, says: “This kind of] fraud is a deeply invasive crime that strikes at a moment when people are making one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.

Life changing

“Criminals exploit trust and urgency to divert life-changing sums of money into their own accounts, leaving victims devastated - both financially and emotionally.

“We’re urging anyone involved in property transactions to stay alert, verify payment requests directly, and treat any last-minute changes to bank details as a red flag.

“Fraudsters will often use hacked or spoofed email accounts so that their messages can appear highly authentic. Victims may not realise they’ve been deceived until the money is gone.”

Action Fraud and the City of London police are the national centres of reporting for fraud and cybercrime. Their figures reveals that on average, each payment diversion fraud nets £82,000 for the criminals involved.

Read more about rental sector fraud.