Real Estate: The scams with false ads are multiplying on the Internet

Scams with fake rental ads are in full swing on specialized websites. Reports to the authorities are increasing and professionals are more than ever alerted to the phenomenon that particularly targets people with difficulties to find housing. The crooks make them glimmer a real unexpected and ask for money to reserve it.

False rental ads posted online by crooks are multiplying on specialized sites. The scammers publish photos of an attractive housing together with a very reasonable rent to attract the victims. The latter are then asked to pay money to reserve the unexpected property, which is actually not available. The success of the scam is largely based on the difficulties of many tenants to find accommodation, explains The Parisian Wednesday, October 16th.

False or stolen ads

The property is sometimes rented. "The crooks also use mirror ads, copied and pasted real offers", indicates to the daily newspaper Florian Fonteneau, brigade chief at the Central Office of fight against the crime related to the technologies of the information and the communication (OCLCTIC).

"They are hacking the owners' mailbox. From there, the responses to their ad are redirected to the rogue's e-mail that sends the tenants a bogus lease and demands immediate payment. ", describes the general director of PAP, Laetitia Caron.

Specialized sites attentive

The portal of the Particular to Private group blocks more than a quarter of the rental ads it receives because of doubts about the veracity of offers, said its president Corinne Jolly at a press conference in September. Since the beginning of 2019, more than 600 false rentals have been reported on the Info Scams platform. An annual increase of almost 30%.

In 2018, 7,000 similar cases were also reported to the authorities via Pharos, the tool developed by the police to allow the posting of illegal online content. But the figure could be even higher.