A CRIME prevention officer warned that desperation around the housing crisis is only serving to empower scam artists resulting in losses of thousands for devastated Corkonians.

Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Brian McSweeney said two people in Cork City reported losses of more than a €1,000 each in the last number of days alone.

Both had paid deposits for accommodation they believed was legitimate in the Cork area. In one incident the property did not exist.

However, Sgt McSweeney said that even in the cases of known properties potential renters should ensure a house is empty first.

He referred to the great lengths con artists will go to in order to make a scam seem legitimate including the issuing of a fake set of keys.

“Accommodation fraud is raising its head once again,” he told The Echo.

“If people are engaging with landlords they need to be sure that the property exists. The last two incidents in recent days had involved accommodation that was sourced on foreign websites.

“People are engaging with these sites and using [online] payment options which is basically like throwing your money into a black hole.”

DEPOSIT

“If you are putting down a deposit on a property you have to be sure that A) the property exists and B) the property is empty. If someone isn’t sure a property is empty, all they need to do is knock on the door,” Sgt McSweeney said.

“The desperation is the gravy to the criminal. People need to realise that if an accommodation site was that good everybody would be using it. When property is that freely available it should immediately set off alarm bells.”

He advised anyone looking for a property to rent to seek out a reputable auctioneer.

“The con artists know that people in Cork are in desperation. There have been cases where a person has knocked on a door only to be told that the house wasn’t for rent. My advice when looking for any property would be to go with a local auctioneer who you know and trust. People advertising properties will normally do so locally so the best thing to do is avoid overseas websites advertising Cork accommodation.”

He added that social media can often be used as a platform for scams. “Social media has become very dangerous and that’s something we all need to be aware of.” 

Meanwhile, Sgt McSweeney said that one of the predominant current scams includes fraudulent links sent by text message claiming to be from eFlow, An Post, and Eir. He urged people not to click on links sent via email or text or disclose bank details over the phone.

“Legitimate companies won’t call you looking for your bank details, but people are still clicking on links.

“There have even been cases where people have clicked on fraudulent links from eFlow despite not having been through the toll in the last year. Sometimes they assume that driving there must just have slipped their mind.”

Victims of fraudulent activity can find out more about reporting a crime by visiting www.garda.ie.