The Guardia Civil have arrested a 57-year-old woman residing in Tenerife as the alleged perpetrator of various property rental scams in which she received almost 5,000 euros.
The 57-year-old woman, a Tenerife resident, has been arrested as the alleged perpetrator of at least five separate scams in the form of false property rentals.
According to the police report, the 57-year-old is accused of publishing property rental advertisements on real estate websites offering flats for rent.
After establishing contact with potential victims, the 57-year-old allegedly convinced them to make bank transfers or cash payments as a reservation for the property or an upfront payment of the first month’s rent. A total of 4,850 euros had been received.
Once the payments were made, the 57-year-old allegedly began to make excuses until finally ceasing all communication with the victims who were then unable to contact her again.
The victims are reported to have been located in Tenerife, La Palma and Lanzarote.
How to avoid holiday scams:
• IF IT’S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS.
Lanzarote’s holiday rental market is competitive and genuine bargains aren’t easy to find. If you find a stunning property at a surprisingly low price, proceed with caution. Another warning light is if the property’s calendar is suspiciously empty during peak season.
• CHECK REVIEWS
If a property has no previous reviews on the rental site, again, be cautious. Fake reviews can also be posted, but they’re likely to be very recent.
• CONTACT THE OWNER/RENTER
The more details you can get from the person you’re dealing with, the better. Genuine renters may also be reluctant to give out too much information, but most will be happy to offer bona fides. Ask them about local restaurants, beaches, activities etc – genuine owners will usually be happy to help.
• LEARN TO SEARCH
As scammers don’t actually own anything, they usually steal online photos of attractive properties from estate agents or other rental agencies. Learn to use Google Image Search to see if the photo you’re tempted by is genuine. Some scammers have even posted fake photos of their “sales reps” or “agents” which also give the game away.
Once you get the address of the property, search it on Google Street View to check. It’s also worth searching any names, phone numbers, email addresses or websites you’re using – the results will give you a better idea of what you’re dealing with.
• THINK BEFORE YOU ACT
Paying by debit card or credit card offers you the best chance of claiming your money back if you get scammed.
Scammers only want your deposit, so if they try to hustle you along into transferring money (e.g by offering discounts for booking quickly), alarm bells should start ringing.