First time tenant guide
Preventing rental fraud
Protect yourself from being tricked into paying up front fees, deposits or rent to criminals
Rental Fraud occurs when tenants are tricked into paying up front fees, deposits or rent to criminals; many of whom have led victims to believe that rental properties belong to them when they don’t.
Criminals place fake adverts with properties to let (stealing photos and property details from unsuspecting private landlords or letting agents) or respond to online requests for rental properties (which often appear on social media).
To prevent Rental Fraud tenants should research any letting agency, landlord or property before handing over any money – using the internet, review sites or phoning contacts using publically available contact details. Posting a request for rental properties online is not recommended.
Overall, as always, it’s important to remain vigilant to prevent being a victim of fraud, you may also find the information available on Your Move’s special ‘Your Security’ section useful. This can be found here.
Information is also available on the Action Fraud’s website. If you live in Scotland, however, you should contact the Police via 101 if you suspect you have been a victim of Fraud.
Remember, at Your Move, we never ask for payment via social media or for customers to share information from payment cards. We have strict processes for this sort of transaction which only operate via colleagues in our branches. If you are unsure whether any contact from us is genuine, please contact your local branch, yourself, by phone and speak to one of the team.