Students, older persons and foreigners are the targets of rental scammers. The persons who want to rent accommodations can become victims of pseudo-real estate agents or online scammers who offer them apartments that had been occupied by other tenants.

Contacted by IPN, Diana Fetco, head of the Communications and Protocol Unit of the General Police Inspectorate, said the advertisement and the contact phone number need to be attentively examined. When the phone number contains letters instead of digits, like “z” instead of “3” or “o” instead of “0”, this is a sign of fraud.

The advertisements saying that the owner is abroad and looks for reliable persons who would look after the apartment or that there is a locked room in the apartment, where the owner keeps his/her staff, should also be treated with caution.

The making of payments in advance, before the lease is signed, the ads saying the accommodations are leased our “urgently” or when the asked rental is much lower than on the market should also be reasons for concern.

Those who want to rent lodgings should carefully choose the real estate agent or agency. They should attentively examine the documents and the lease and should inspect the rooms for damage before signing the lease.

The private individuals who do not perform entrepreneurial activities and lease out real estate are obliged to go and report this to the State Tax Service.