Recently, the Police have received several complaints from citizens regarding online fraud of house / apartment and other tourist accommodation rental liabilities via Airbnb.
The complainants, after evaluating the advertisement paid for their reservation, but found that it was a fraud since such a reservation was not valid or even such accommodation did not exist. Fraudsters urged unsuspecting tenants to pay the required amount of money in bank accounts abroad.
For these incidents, fraudsters pretend to be the owners of available homes / apartments in Cyprus or even abroad, which are offered for rent through various relevant websites, creating fake ads with fake personal information and email addresses that do not require user certification. They also use prepaid phone cards.
The public is invited to be very careful before making any payment. To proceed with further examinations regarding the accommodation and to confirm that the advertisement is indeed authentic through an official website. Also, the payment to be made in bank accounts (which is considered normal to make the payment) and not through a personal settlement with the owner.
The public can consult the Police for such scams through the official pages of the Police and the Office for Combating Cybercrime and to file complaints to visit the Department of Crime Detection.
Source: Philenews