Fake landlord scam dupes homeseekers

Published: 21 October, 2010
by JAMIE WELHAM

PEOPLE looking for rental properties in Camden are being warned of a “let and run” scam operated by conmen posing as landlords on the internet.

Victims of the scam – many of whom have lost hundreds of pounds paid upfront in deposits – said fraudsters have been advertising properties on popular websites including Gumtree.

Local housing watchdog, the Camden Federation of Private Tenants (CFPT), said it had been inundated with calls from victims of the wheeze over the past six weeks.

Typically, a prospective tenant gets in contact and views the property and the so-called landlord is simply a tenant, who takes hundreds of pounds as a deposit before vanishing.

In a variation of the scam, overseas tenants – often students who are looking to secure a flat before arriving in London – transfer money over the internet and arrive to find the house doesn’t exist at all.

One victim, who asked to be referred to as Ian, met a bogus landlord three times at a property in Camden Town before he was scammed.

“The ‘landlord’ was very convincing,” Ian said. “I looked this guy in the eye on three different occasions when my girlfriend and I went to the flat. 

“It wasn’t like I paid a load of money on the internet. We got the keys, turned up and there was someone else in the room. We lost about £1,000.

“With hindsight, I should have asked him for ID, taken a name and number for the account, even taken a photo of him. That would have made him think twice. 

“Don’t be too polite. Don’t be fooled. Don’t be rushed because they say they’ve got 10 people wanting the property. An empty flat is a bad sign. I know that now.”

Local resident John Cowley met an American student who had paid £700 for a flat that didn’t exist in York Way.

“Three weeks ago a I met a young fellow in his twenties standing outside 88 York Way,” Mr Cowley explained. 

“He had just arrived from New York that morning. He was standing with his suitcase staring at the house. I spoke to him and he told me he had been conned over the internet into paying up front £700 for a flat in York Way. He was a student, come to study at a University in London.”

The scam has been operated in Swiss Cottage, Kentish Town and Camden Town but it is suspected many cases go unreported.

Robert Taylor, chairman of the CFPT, advised people looking for bargain flats: “If a property looks like it’s too good to be true that’s because it is.”

He has written to Gumtree to try and organise a meeting about how the rogue landlords can be stopped.

He said: “Our advice would be, don’t hand over money before seeing a property first of all and trust your instincts. 

“Go to the property with an agent or landlord – but from what we’re seeing even that isn’t a guarantee. This is the worst it has been and Camden is definitely a hotspot. The rental market is buoyant, and typically you get five tenants going for every bedroom, so you can see how people can be sitting targets.”

A spokesman for the website Gumtree.com said: “Fraud is an industry-wide problem that we take very seriously. We regret if any of our community members have fallen victim to incidents of fraud. We do our best to protect anybody who uses Gumtree, the vast majority whom have a safe and successful experiment.”

A spokeswoman for Camden Police said: “Prior to placing even a small ‘holding deposit’, visit the premises and satisfy yourself that the premises exist and that the person letting it out has the right to do so.  

“If you feel uneasy with the transaction, walk away.”