A Ventnor resident has lost £450 after scammers spotted a post he shared on social media – in which he was desperately seeking a rental property – and got in touch with him to begin a trail of deception.
The scam started two days ago when Shane Dillon (pictured) posted on Facebook that he was due to be homeless very soon (as his landlord was selling up) and was searching for a three-bedroom property with his partner, who is six-months pregnant.
Scammers made contact
To his surprise, soon after he was messaged by a woman called Laura Rayner introducing herself and her partner as private landlords, saying they had a property in Ventnor available for rent from the following week.
Laura shared with the prospective tenant over 25 photos and details of the rent, deposit, etc.
The property was everything Shane was looking for, it had enough bedrooms so his daughter could visit on weekends, and a lovely garden facing onto the Ventnor Downs.
Scammers pushed for ‘a holding deposit’
The ‘landlord’ Laura explained that the deposit would be held in the Government’s Deposit Protection Scheme and that a holding deposit could be made prior to viewing.
Laura added several times in the correspondence that the holding deposit was fully refundable if Shane chose not to take on the rental.
She went on to say that if the holding deposit was sorted that day, she’d be able to send over her landlord registration number and tenancy documents the next day and that the £450 holding deposit would be deducted from the main rental deposit should Shane go ahead with the rental.
All seemed legitimate
The correspondence between Shane and Laura continues with him asking how long she’d owned the property, whether the couple were local etc.
He said it all seemed legitimate, so Shane transferred the £450 holding deposit.
The sad truth revealed
After making the payment he tried to message Laura and discovered he had been blocked by her, and then realising very quickly what had happened.
Shane has since spoken to the estate agent that recently sold the property, who confirmed it was not owned by Laura or Kyle.
Bank less than heplful
The scam has been reported to the police, but Shane says his bank – Metro Bank – have been less than unhelpful, telling him there is nothing they can do to claw the money back.
In the meantime, Shane and her partner are £450 down and still desperately looking for a rental property.
