An Garda Síochána are advising students and parents in Co. Tipperary and elsewhere, to be aware of rental accommodation scams, especially at this time of year, as students are preparing to return to college. A known €900,000 has been stolen in rental scams over the past 3 years; same transactions which become almost impossible to trace .
Due mainly to Covid-19 restrictions, accommodation frauds have declined over the past 15 months, however Gardaí are once again highlighting such incidents of fraud which could affect not just a new generation of third level students seeking accommodation, but also the lives of those already established within our education system.
Gardaí highlight a total of 503 cases of rental fraud, reported between February 1st, 2019 and May 31st, 2021; of which just 50% occurred in the Dublin city area.
Some 42% of all the injured parties were under the age of 25 years, while some 72% were under the age of 35 years.
Gardaí are asking those in search of rented accommodation to be wary especially if a website or other advertising agency is asking prospective tenants to send money to a random PayPal address, wire same via Western Union, pay in gift cards or in cryptocurrency; since the latter methods are used to avoid detection thus ensuring that such transaction can never be reversed.
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