Rental Fraud

Police are warning residents in the North East to remain vigilant about rental fraud and scams.  This follows a report of a residential property being advertised for rent fraudulently. A student paid £1200 deposit on the property, which turned out to be a scam.

Investigations into this incident are ongoing.

To protect yourself from a rental scam, there are various ‘Red Flags’ to look out for,  to help confirm the legitimacy of the property, the landlord, and the letting agency before you hand over any money:

The Landlord Registry Service (www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk) provides details of most private landlords.  

Fraudsters will often tell you there is a lot of interest in the property and to secure it you must send money even without having visited the property. A scammer will often refuse a viewing, claiming they're out of the country or unavailable. If they won't let you see the inside of the property, it's a huge red flag. Make sure you visit the property with a reputable agent or landlord and consider speaking to the neighbours.  Be suspicious of anyone who refuses to let you visit the property. Ask for ID from the landlord to establish they are who they say they are. Ask to see copies of the tenancy agreement, safety certificates or HMO Licence.  

Use online tools like Google Maps Street View to confirm that the property's address and exterior match the photos in the advertisement. Scammers often use photos of legitimate properties they don't own. You can also run a reverse image search on the photos to see if they appear on other sites, which could indicate a fake listing

Beware of adverts with no telephone numbers and make sure the number works and not a fax number fraudsters find on the internet. Be suspicious if they only want to communicate via email or an instant messaging app like WhatsApp and avoid phone or video calls. 

Protect your money by using secure, traceable payment methods. Never pay in cash or use untraceable services like Western Union or MoneyGram. Transfer funds to a bank account having obtained the details by contacting the landlord or agent directly after the above steps have been followed. If the bank account is not in their name, this is very likely to be a scam and you should not make any payments.

For more information on scams and frauds visit: www.scotland.police.uk/advice-and-information/scams-and-frauds.

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Police Scotland's North East Division covers rural and urban areas in Moray, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City.  The division has five territorial command areas which have their own dedicated Area Commander, who is responsible for the daily policing function.  Each command area is served by a number of community policing teams whose activities are built around the needs of the local community.  These teams respond to local calls and look for long term solutions to key issues.  They are assisted by the division's Crime Reduction Unit who deliver against Force and local priorities in a number of areas, including physical and social crime prevention, supporting and enhancing community engagement and creating and sustaining strong and effective partnership working.