More and more French people are falling for this scam.
This is always the risk when booking a vacation. Many French people are afraid of being scammed by renting an apartment or house online for a few days, from an owner they don’t know. According to one study, one in three vacationers has already been the victim of a scam after making a reservation. A substantial part which reminds us of the importance of vigilance when planning your weeks of summer relaxation. Even for the most internet-savvy people, it is not always easy to spot a scam. One of them, in vogue at the moment, however, contains certain signs which do not deceive as to its fallacious nature.
When reserving accommodation, a deposit is requested by the owner in order to guarantee the rental and to protect against any cancellation. The general rule – although the law does not regulate it – is to pay 30% of the rental amount. Some use this prepayment as a way to defraud the owner of the property, by playing on good faith. The principle is well established.
On a classified ads platform, a person poses as a vacationer interested in accommodation. An exchange then begins with the owner and an agreement on a reservation is reached. To confirm the rental, a deposit is requested, in accordance with the contract sent. This is where the scam begins: the fake rental company “sends” more money than expected for the deposit and asks that the owner pay back the overpayment. “In reality, the guest’s initial payment was fraudulent. Before the rental company realizes it, the fake renter cancels their initial payment and the host is left with, on the one hand, a canceled reservation and, on the other hand, on the other hand, a reimbursement to the crook”, explains Laurent Amar, director of France Vérif, to the Figaro. Concretely, if the owner had agreed to reimburse the 100 or 200 euros “overpaid” by the rental company, that is as much money as he has lost.
An embezzlement from which it is quite easy to protect yourself, although it is the scam in vogue this year. First of all, it is preferable to only communicate with a potential rental company on the messaging platforms (Leboncoin, AirBnb, Abritel, etc.) because the robots are able to detect suspicious behavior in the messages and warn the rental companies.
Furthermore, you should never make a reimbursement, whatever it may be, but rather adjust the amount remaining to be paid according to the advance already paid. Finally, it is better to favor payments by bank transfers and avoid money transfer companies like Moneygram or Western Union. If these processes can be interesting for making cash and avoiding any traceability, they above all expose you to scams against which you will not be able to turn around.