Criminals presenting as landlords are conning would-be tenants across London out of thousands of pounds a day in fake deposit and rent payments.
London Trading Standards reports that scammers are pressuring them to pay holding deposits, security deposits and rental payments up front before they have even viewed a property.
More than 50 people have tried to claim their deposits back after realising the reduced-price properties they planned to move into were never available.
In some of the cases the criminals are giving the prospective tenants a deposit protection certificate from a government-authorised scheme. As they never had any intention of giving the tenants their deposit back these protections are being taken out fraudulently.
When the scammed tenants called the phone number provided by the company, they discovered the line had been disconnected by the National Fraud Agency.
One tenancy deposit company told London Trading Standards it had received 52 calls related to the scam and warns there may be more victims out there yet to realise they’ve been duped.
A London Trading Standards spokesman warns tenants never to hand over any money until they have viewed a prospective rental property, and that payments should always be made by bank transfer.
“When using a letting agent, tenants should use a reputable agent and ensure that the agent they are using is registered with a government approved redress scheme as well as a client money protection scheme,” he adds.
London Trading Standards is urging anyone with information about scam tenancies to share what they know on its report consumer crime page.
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