People looking for property to rent are being scammed. There are two scams we are seeing.
One is where naive renters are asked to pay a deposit before they can go and view a property. In the UK you do not pay a deposit or any other fee to view a property.
Second, is a scam where renters are asked to prove they have enough money to pay the deposit and rent by using Western Union. The scammers tell renters to send a Western Union money transfer to themselves and then scan the paperwork to them.
Renters think that this is safe to do because the transfer is made out to themselves. However in order to collect Western Union transfer you only need the reference number and security question. When you scan the paper work that information is sent to the scammers and the criminals collect the money.
Always - ALWAYS avoid any transaction that requires you to send money via wire transfer.
Rental scams
One is where naive renters are asked to pay a deposit before they can go and view a property. In the UK you do not pay a deposit or any other fee to view a property.
Second, is a scam where renters are asked to prove they have enough money to pay the deposit and rent by using Western Union. The scammers tell renters to send a Western Union money transfer to themselves and then scan the paperwork to them.
Renters think that this is safe to do because the transfer is made out to themselves. However in order to collect Western Union transfer you only need the reference number and security question. When you scan the paper work that information is sent to the scammers and the criminals collect the money.
Always - ALWAYS avoid any transaction that requires you to send money via wire transfer.
Rental scams