Students defrauded in a repeat of property scam

by Jodi Mullen, The Journal Issue 13 (U.K.), November 9, 2008

Students in Edinburgh have once again fallen victim to scams by online fraudsters posing as legitimate landlords on a popular flat-finding website.

A number of Napier University students were conned out of hundreds of pounds when they arrived in the city to find no accommodation waiting for them and their deposits gone.

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Local man victim of internet scam

by Rebecca Medel, Pincher Creek Echo (Canada), October 30, 2008

Sandor Lengyel is the first to blame himself for falling for an internet scam and losing $966.

“I have to blame myself. I was stupid,” he said.

Lengyel lives in Pincher Creek with his family and moved to Canada from Hungary about six years ago. On Oct. 17 he inquired about an apartment in Edmonton on a popular advertising website and received a reply the same day from a woman, who said she was the property owner.

The woman said she and her family had recently moved to West Africa as missionaries and were looking for a trustworthy tenant to look after their property.

She asked Lengyel to send her the first months rent via Western Union.

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Would-be renters scammed

By BILL KAUFMANN, Calgary Sun (Canada), October 30, 2008 

Consumer advocates are warning Calgarians about scammers exploiting genuine real estate listings to rip off people seeking rental properties.

The heads-up comes after a city couple desperately seeking a home to rent fell for the scheme they found on a website Oct. 12 — wiring $966 to a Nigerian recipient claiming to be a Calgary doctor headed to Africa to do Christian missionary work with a southwest home for rent.

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