Be alert for scams this Easter

Easter is a time when many people take a break from work or school, some enjoying a short holiday, but whereas there are many who do take time out for the period, one group of people become more active, namely criminals who take advantage of the season to increase the number of scam attempts.

Most of the seasonal scams around holiday periods such as Easter occur taking advantage of the high demand for tourist housing. They usually insert fraudulent advertisements on platforms and web pages, and to capture the attention of users they offer very low prices. Once such gang who were doing this were recently locked up following an investigation by the authorities, but many more gangs still operate.

In general, they resort to specialised portals for vacation rental properties. In them they publish offers, often with apartments that they do not have access to, or that simply do not exist. Any approach is valid as long as it deceives its potential victims.

There are a few keys to identify these scammers. They resort to messages that are poorly written, with “bad communication and forms of payment in advance and outside the official platform.”

The amount they get through this system is usually between 1,000 and 3,000 euro. It is the money that they usually request as a deposit or for the full rent in advance.

For their part, the penalties they face range from six months to three years in prison. There are scammers who ask for lower deposits, because if the scam does not exceed 400 euro, the sanction could be reduced to a fine.

How to avoid scams when renting a home at Easter

In order not to fall into the trap of these criminals, there are a series of measures to adopt. First of all, use officially recognised portals with a long history, and only conduct communication and payment through that trusted portal.

Do not get carried away by rents that are too cheap. No one will give us anything and generally those prices tend to be synonymous with the scam.

Payments must always be made through the platform enabled for it. Otherwise, there would be no option to file claims. Do not hesitate to ask the landlord for a copy of the DNI on both sides to have it identified.

Make sure that said agreement is always formalised in writing. It is also necessary to pay some attention to pirate websites that are a carbon copy of other well-known ones. Check that the domain has ‘ https ‘ in front of it, as this will guarantee security.

We must also be wary of emails that come poorly translated. Put yourself at your worst when emails contain random capital letters, numbers, and the letter x in excess. Profiles without recent ratings are also suspect.

What to do when you have already been scammed?

If you end up being a victim of these scammers, the first thing you should do is put the case in the hands of the platform where you found the ad. They will guide you with the next steps to take. They are in charge of carrying out the work of intermediaries between individuals and their level of responsibility is limited.

It is advisable to collect all the evidence and conversations you have and present them to the Guardia Civil or Police. These bodies have teams specialised in technological crimes, so they could help you.

The Police will take care of analysing whether they have received more complaints for similar events. In this way they will cross data and be able to obtain more conclusions. In the event that they cannot identify the offender, the complaint will be filed.

However, if they have sufficient evidence, they will end up referring them to the Prosecutor’s Office. This body will be in charge of requesting the initiation of criminal proceedings ex officio.

When the victim has recognized the alleged scammer, they could file a criminal complaint. In addition to appearing in the case as a private prosecution.

Remember to be wary of bargains and try to execute every operation through the vacation rental platforms.

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