How to spot possible frauds when renting in Spain

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

An ad posted on a real estate portal offers a luxury apartment in the center of Madrid for just 800 euros. laSexta investigated and confirms that it is one of the many real estate frauds that proliferate on the Internet.

"Incredible and luxurious apartment with three bedrooms, equipped kitchen and two bathrooms in the center of Madrid, next to the Retiro, only 860 euros." The ad, posted on a famous real estate portal, sounds suspicious and laSexta decided to dig a little deeper into it.

After contacting the advertiser of the alleged apartment, laSexta was informed that the price for a month's rent is 860 euros, including expenses. All a bargain that sounds like fraud.

Then comes the trap: to book it, Airbnb asks to pay the first two months of rent and a deposit of one month. 

Clicking the link to pay redirects to a supposed Airbnb website—a not legitimate Airbnb website. "They redirect you to pages that apparently have all the logos and the appearance of a secure page," explains María Fernández, spokesperson for the National Police. It is 'phishing', one of the most used methods by cyber criminals to commit scams.

It's just what happened to Rebeca on a well-known ad website. "He insisted that we deposit the monthly payment plus a deposit, plus another month for Airbnb, which were the ones who were going to show us the entire floor," she says.

laSexta asked the advertiser for more information and he sent the site some photographs, supposedly his, together with a passport. At the ad address, however, there are no 'rent' signs, nor does their name appear in the mailboxes. In fact, most of the floors of the block are offices or law firms. It confirms that we are facing a scam over the Internet.

Although many rental portals have equipment to detect fraud like this, the first detector is common sense. "When you see an ad that is in the area you're looking for, it has some incredible photos and a price that you can not believe, most likely it is a fraud," says Fernando Encinar, Head of Studies at Idealista.

Another red flag are any spelling mistakes in the ads, as these mafias often use an automated language. In addition, the alleged owner claims to live abroad and always asks for a payment in advance.

Paola was the victim of one of these scams: she lost 700 euros when she reserved the one that looked like the floor of her dreams. "When it was time to see the floor, it did not appear, it just did not exist," she says.

The Police have asked that these cases be denounced, so that the wheel of the real estate fraud does not keep turning.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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