One after the other, Bruno Boivin describes the multiple cases of falsified rental files handled by his office the previous week. Presence of false pay slips for a candidate for renting an apartment in the center of Paris, false employment contract of a senior executive with an advantageous salary who ultimately left his company weeks ago, fictitious employment of the wife of a doctor to support a case… Over time, this private detective is no longer surprised by such “cheating” in the documents sent to owners to obtain an apartment or commercial premises. Every week, landlords looking for information on their future tenants call on its services to check the solvency of candidates, uncover falsified files, or carry out investigations on people already settled. “A few years ago, I had no cases of this type. But now, I deal with at least ten per week. These scams have literally exploded,” comments the investigator, founder of the specialized agency. CodIV. Month after month, the man saw the scammers become more professional, offering ever more precise and “particularly well imitated” documents. “You have two profiles: future tenants who just want their file to ‘go through’, to finally find accommodation. And those, more and more numerous, whose goal is not to pay the rent or to sublet the property. “apartment on Airbnb-type platforms”, summarizes Bruno Boivin.
For fraudsters, these false files have never been so easy to achieve. Any Internet user can obtain fake, more or less well-falsified documents online for a few dozen euros. “There are sites that open and close every day and, with the right address, you will find papers with official typography, consistent rate calculations, the real signature of a boss on an employment contract with a date which corresponds”, regrets detective André Compagnon, vice-president of the National Union of Private Research Agents (Snarp). On a specialized forum suggested by the investigator, it is for example possible to order a personalized employment contract, with the desired net salary and seniority date, as well as our own social security number, for 60 euros. The same goes for pay slips (30 euros each), an employer certificate (60 euros), rent receipts (20 euros), or even a promise of employment in due form, including the date of maintenance and the envisaged net salary (80 euros). The customer reviews left on the site leave no room for doubt: “We found what we were looking for with an individual, thank you for everything!” lets go of a fraudster. “I signed the lease yesterday, it went smoothly!” says another, while a last assures to have obtained an agreement for a lease signing the following week.
“The problem in a tense real estate market is that people are in a hurry. Owners analyze too quickly, are convinced by basic elements, like the salary displayed on a pay slip… And they are fooled,” warns Bruno Boivin. To avoid any problems, the research agent and his team offer landlords the opportunity to analyze the documents presented by rental candidates within twenty-four hours. For a price ranging from “300 to 400 euros per file”, they check the consistency of pay slips, the veracity of the identity papers provided, ensure the authenticity of an income tax notice, etc. But they can also pick up their phone to contact, officially or unofficially, an employer or a former owner to ensure the solvency of the future tenant. Depending on the elements gathered, the agency then issues an opinion on the credibility of the file, classified red (if it is not convincing), orange (if doubts are expressed) or green (if the documents do not contain any inconsistency ).
“A small detail can change everything”
“When people cheat on their files, they always leave a trace somewhere,” summarizes Nicolas Bilbao, private research agent in Paris and director of investigation within the Visiopole Investigations agency. A little over a month ago, the specialist checked the profile of a potential tenant, interested in a luxury apartment in the heart of the capital. On paper, the file was perfect: a couple, serious guarantors, good salaries, prestigious positions. “The problem was that the person had been a little too greedy about his job title. His position and his salary did not really match his age, and the owner expressed some doubts,” recalls the detective, who then cross-references the information available online with “a few phone calls” to ensure the veracity of the profile. Result ? “Everything was false. The aim of the future tenant was above all to sublet the apartment on platforms, which we are seeing more and more ahead of the Paris Olympic Games,” he summarizes.
Same scenario experienced by Anthony Caudal, director of the Parisian firm Agora Détectives since 2009. Recently, the man found the true identity of a future tenant who posed as a single woman, manager of a luxury boutique. “When we checked, all her documents were falsified. She was married, had children, did not work in the store in question: there was potentially a big scam behind it,” explains the detective, aware of the obstacle course for the owners who would be cheated. “Once the person is established, it can be very difficult to dislodge them. Especially since the scammers are now experienced: they can build a very successful story, a real facade on social networks, and it becomes complicated for landlords to flush them out,” he warns. If most of these cases are resolved in forty-eight to seventy-two hours, the investigator estimates that certain more complex scams can take “weeks” of investigation, and justify a price ranging from 1,500 to 5,000 euros per file.
Most of Nicolas Bilbao or Anthony Caudal’s clients call on them once the tenants have settled in, when the dispute has already taken place. “Suddenly, the owner realizes that strangers are living in his home, that the rent is not being paid, or even that the tenants are disappearing without a trace. He then has to find their address, provide proof, understand how the scam”, describes Anthony Caudal, who charges his research “between 500 and 1,500 euros, depending on the complexity of the file”. The latest one was not easy to resolve: an owner asked the detective for help after a man moved into his apartment instead of the official tenant, without any authorization having been given. issued and a lease signed. “This man was unemployed, often drugged, bothered the neighborhood. We didn’t know if he was a husband, a friend, a partner…” remembers the investigator, who then made a series of calls, spoke with the residents of the neighborhood, and even carries out a “little shadowing”. But there is no question of crossing the red line: private research agents do not have the right to access Urssaf or national police files, for example. After some investigations, Anthony Caudal understands that it is the brother of the tenant, who herself has gone to live abroad. “This information and evidence have been reported to the owner. He is free to contact his lawyer and file a complaint… Even if, in this type of case, tenants can find a multitude of tricks to slip through the cracks” , he concludes.