Deposit Fraud

New Fraud Scheme Causing Four-Figure Losses per Person

At the beginning of last year, there were nine closely spaced cases involving a brazen new scam: the perpetrators rented a beautiful, centrally located Munich apartment for a few days through the vacation rental platform Airbnb, took photos in the apartment, and then posted advertisements for the rental with a site plan and all important details online. Interested parties were thus able to arrange viewing appointments with the fraudsters and then received an email after the apartment viewing with the supposed “landlords’” confirmation. All interested parties were instructed in the email to transfer a deposit equal to three months’ rent and a down payment for the new kitchen to the fraudsters’ account. After that, they would receive the keys. As one might expect, it did not take long for the rude awakening to come: payments between 4,000 and 5,000 euros per victim were now in the hands of unknown fraudsters, and the initially so blissful tenants were still without an apartment.

 

Now, with many forms of trick fraud, most people do shake their heads at how naïve the victim was when falling into the trap. But hand on heart: when you rented your last apartment, did you ask to see proof of ownership from the landlord before transferring the deposit? Most likely not. While the “grandparent scam” in its various forms is known to almost everyone, the scam described above is something new that requires educational work to reduce the number of successful offenses. There is also a whole range of other types of fraud in the context of (supposed) tenancies; we would like to discuss some of them in more detail below. As a general rule: if you have become a victim of such fraud, our detective agency in Munich is ready to assist you in clarifying the case: +49 89 7007 4378-0.

Too Good to Be True? Beware of Lowball Offers and Foreign Transfers!

In many German cities, especially in North Rhine-Westphalia, “brokers” or “landlords” from abroad often offer beautiful old buildings in good locations at ridiculously low rental prices. In this way, customers are lured in, believing they have discovered a once-in-a-lifetime bargain. The offered bargain rent or bargain purchase price instead of market-rate figures naturally attracts numerous interested parties, all of whom receive a promise from the alleged broker on the condition that a deposit and the first month’s rent be transferred immediately. Only then, they are told, is the apartment reserved, which is why the interested parties naturally hurry to transfer the amount and thereby seal the deal. Given the low cost, people then accept the time pressure and may not scrutinize the property and the broker as closely as they normally would.

 

Apartment seekers and buyers should therefore exercise extreme caution when transfer requests are made via Western Union or other international money transfer companies, which make it extremely difficult to trace both account holders and transferred amounts. Payments through such transfer companies often have the smell of illegal dealings attached to them, as the experience of our economic detectives from Munich shows: while simple bank transfers can usually be reversed in very little time—provided the account has not already been emptied—this is far more difficult with international financial institutions. Prospective tenants should also ask themselves why a landlord of an apartment offered in Germany would demand a transfer abroad.

Exploiting Hardship for Fraudulent Purposes – Students Are Particularly Affected

Not only our private detective agency in Munich, but also consumer protection organizations warn against being overly naïve in the face of seemingly perfect apartments. Especially in cities like Munich, where affordable housing is scarce but there are many students, some of whom receive their university admission only at a late stage, caution is advised. Due to the large influx of new first-semester students, apartments are sometimes rented blindly and the required deposits are paid—without the property ever being viewed. The desperation and time pressure of those searching for housing are therefore easy prey for fraudsters, who exploit students’ haste and once again tie the promise to a deposit payment. The students pay—and after only a few days are left with an empty savings account and the problem of having to find a new apartment with reduced funds.

 

Since these cases can (and do) occur all across Europe, it is important to take precautions before any money is transferred. Once the down payments have been made, it is virtually impossible for private individuals to find the perpetrators and recover the transferred money: accounts are emptied immediately after the transfer and the perpetrators are usually gone within a few hours. While the police, especially in large cities, are primarily occupied with serious violent crime—if they are available at all—and can do little for the victims of such deposit fraudsters, our economic detective agency from Munich is ready to act at short notice to follow the digital and analog traces of the fraudsters and stop them on behalf of those affected.

Fraudster Fantasies Know No Limits: Fake Companies Are Meant to Suggest Legitimacy

Apart from illegal rental agreements for vacation apartments and deposit fraud without a prior apartment viewing, there are other forms of fraud as well, including the use of fake companies that are intended to remove doubts from apartment seekers regarding the seriousness of an offer and strengthen their willingness to rent. In such cases, the deposit and any down payments are not transferred directly to the apparent landlord, but rather to an intermediary company with a professional website and seemingly genuine contact details, which is meant to reassure even skeptical rental prospects. The customer feels safe, since they now have not just one person but a company as a point of contact in case of problems. As a result, they follow the payment instructions and end up empty-handed, because the intermediary company may have a nice website but exists only in virtual form.

 

This scheme is often carried out by email once an interested party has responded to the apartment listing. The supposed property owner tells an elaborate story to justify why payment must be made before the viewing. Example: he is a British businessman with a second home in Germany, but can no longer come there regularly because his wife has cancer. Since he now stays abroad permanently, a reliable intermediary company handles all rental matters. If interested parties fall for this story, they often lose not only their down payments, but also hand over their credit card details to commercially operating fraudsters. Our Munich detectives therefore strongly warn against such flowery emails that follow an initial contact inquiry regarding an apartment advertisement.

Personally Affected by Deposit Fraudsters – What Can Aaden Detective Agency Munich Do for Me?

Have you, after viewing an apartment and transferring a reservation payment, realized that you have fallen for a fraudster and are now without money AND without an apartment? Have you observed unlawful practices or suspect that a certain apartment ad is intended to lure naïve people into quickly transferring deposits and down payments? Do you want to get on the fraudsters’ trail as quickly and effectively as possible? Then contact our private detectives in Munich for consultation and commissioning purposes. You can reach Aaden Detective Agency during our business hours (Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 19:00) at the following phone number: +49 89 7007 4378-0.

Aaden Detective Agency Munich

Schellingstraße 109a

D-80798 München | Munich

Tel.: +49 89 7007 4378-0

Fax: +49 89 7007 4378-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-muenchen.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-muenchen.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824