scams
-
Regulation & Law
Conveyancers advise agents about most recent scams facing industry
Conveyancing Association says fraud is a significant threat to the industry and has issued revised guidance on how to tackle it including using 'selfies' to validate documents.
Read More » -
Latest property news
Fake letting agent who scammed £10k off tenants is tracked down after going on the run
A fraudster who posed as a fake letting agent and pocketed £10,000 in deposits for properties he did not have permission to rent has been arrested after more than a month on the run. As we reported in December last year, James Bennett (pictured, right) was sentenced to six years in jail at the Inner Crown Court during a trial at which he faced 17 counts of fraud. The 32-year-old had listed numerous properties on SpareRoom.com over a 12-month period ending in December 2016, asking potential tenants for deposits for properties he did not own or manage, and pocketing the cash. Many tenants did not find out about the scam until they turned up at the properties to move in, only to discover that they were not available to rent. The listings were for four properties Bennett had lived in within south London and had fraudulently advertised to rent out while he was waiting to be evicted. In total Bennett took 17 deposits each worth £725 from tenants who were often so desperate to find accommodation in the capital that they made easy targets for his scam. Bennett was arrested in November 2016, made a full admission during a police…
Read More » -
Latest property news
Rental deposit scams stole nearly £1m off tenants during 2017, says campaigner
Rental deposits protection campaigner and insurance-based scheme operator Ajay Jagota (picture,below) has claimed that £926,000 in deposits has been stolen from tenants during 2017. The figure, which only shows the tip of the iceberg because it only reports reported cases, reveals that 25 landlords and letting agents were convicted this year of stealing various amounts ranging from a few hundred to, in one case, £130,000. The most common way deposits are taken illegally is through simple scams – people posing as landlords or letting agents and then taking deposits for fake properties or homes they haven’t been instructed to market or have the authority to rent out. A good example of this is James Bennett, who was sentenced to six years in prison last week after conning at least 17 people in South London out of £10,000 in total using this method. Rental deposits Bennett, who failed to appear in court and is now on the run, used listings on SpareRoom.com to advertise rooms to rent in Brixton, Walworth, Clapham, Elephant & Castle and Tooting despite not having permission to do so. In each case he was staying at the property but, prior to being evicted, advertised the rooms to…
Read More »
