It’s painfully easy to get caught out.

An Garda Síochána is warning people to be extra vigilant when looking for accommodation, particularly now that foreign travel has fully opened up again.

While there are countless scams in operation, one of the most common is rental fraud, where the victim is convinced to hand over a booking fee or deposit for a non-existent hotel or house.

“Successful accommodation fraudsters convince their targets, from the young to the middle-aged, to pay a deposit, and sometimes even rent in advance, for accommodation that either doesn’t exist or does exist but isn’t for rent leaving them stranded and out of pocket.” said a Garda spokesperson.

While the number of incidents of accommodation fraud was down by over 17% in 2020 because of the global pandemic, there was a 30% increase in the amount of accommodation fraud reported in 2021.

What are the red flags?

Red flags include situations where the rent seems too good to be true, the listing contains grammar or spelling mistakes and is on social media and all communication is only via WhatsApp or social media.

You should also think twice if the landlord says they are away and can’t meet you to show you the accommodation, if payment is requested immediately before signing a lease, if payment is requested in cash/PayPal/wire transfer/iTunes gift cards/ cryptocurrency or if the account to pay into is in a different country.

You can check the iban using iban.com/iban-checker.

Speaking at a briefing to launch Fraud Week today, Detective Inspector Steven Meighan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau said holidaymakers need to be extra vigilant to avoid becoming a target.

“In recent cases victims sent their money to accounts in Spain and the UK – always check the IBAN of the account you have been asked to send your money to; it’s usually a good indicator of fraud if the bank is in a different country,” he said.

“For longer-term rentals do a landlord check, make sure the landlord can show you the property and that you get an appropriate tenancy agreement. Trust your instincts and, like anything in life, if the offer sounds too good to be true then it probably is.”

Gardaí are advising members of the public who believe they are a victim of accommodation fraud to contact any Garda Station and report the crime.