First time renting, is this safe?

Armour93

Hi, I'm new to this site so please bare with me. I've recently been emailing a lady who lives in Spain about a property she is looking to rent out in the UK. Basically got to the stage where we both are agreeing to meet to sign papers BUT she, of course, wants proof that the money is there before she flies over etc. She asked me to send money to a friend of mine (she made a point of saying not to her) via Western Union to a friend and then show her a receipt of the transaction to prove the funds are available. This to me rung alarm bells as I know there are a lot of scams done via Western Union so instead I sent a screenshot of my bank account showing the funds are sitting there waiting. She ignored this on her next email, still pushing for me to go through Western Union. I completely understand her point of view on this but it'll be a fair wedge being transferred and it is a advance on wages so if it is a bit dodgy I'll be having a tight few months.. any help would be muuuuch appreciated. Thanks, Rob.

Cliveman_Pieman

No fupping way should you do this.

Pixie5740

Find somewhere else to rent. I find it difficult to believe that a landlord living overseas would fly back and forth rather than just hiring a letting agent to manage the property. Have you actually been able to view the property...inside.

ViolaLass

She wants you to pay someone else by Western Union before signing anything?

There are three alarm bells in that sentence, for me.

Have you seen inside the property? Are you sure this is the owner? Why don't they have a UK agent?

gollum007

This is a scam.

The name on a Western Union payment makes no difference, all that matters is the number attached to it.
'She' is banking on the fact that she will be able to claim the payment before whoever you have sent it to does; The data on the transaction receipt will allow her to do this.

Block and move onto the next one- This is one of the most common scams in the book....

tom9980

it is a scam

davidmcn

It's a scam. She isn't a landlord, and probably isn't a lady or living in Spain.

AdrianC

Seriously, you need to ask?

Cakeguts

This is a very common scam. They get you because they offer to let the property at a price that seems to be cheap compared to what else is in the area. Have you been able to view inside the property because that is usually not possible because the person claiming to be the landlord doesn't own the property? If there is a picture of this property it has often been copied from an agent's advert.

Never ever pay any money for any property unless it is to an agent who is a member of professional property associations or until you have met the landlord in person. Never send money to a landlord who does not live in the country. Landlord's who live abroad let property through agents.

Do not under any circumstances send money by Western Union to anyone you do not know or to anyone who is supposed to be passing money on to someone you don't know.

See if you can find out who owns the property in question by looking for it on legitimate estate agents websites any photograph must have come from somewhere. The property may not be located in the UK. Have you been to the address and seen inside it?

HB58

I'm sorry, I'm sure you must be disappointed. However, the only wise action is to move on and forget about this particular property.

EachPenny

Armour93 wrote: »

I sent a screenshot of my bank account showing the funds are sitting there waiting.

But before you move on, check to make sure there are no details in the screenshot that would be useful to a fraudster - e.g. account numbers (of the account itself, and in any transaction descriptions).

Be aware that banks sometimes use transaction details to verify identity - e.g. "how do you normally pay your credit card bill", so even the recent transactions list can have value to a fraudster.

If you are in any doubt about the information you have given away then you need to think carefully about alerting your bank - especially if the account has a large amount sitting in it waiting to be withdrawn by someone with the right information....