Through a cunning plan, fraudsters managed to swindle one million kroner from desperate housing seekers in Stockholm.
Around 100 people went for viewings and paid down payments for long-term contracts, for apartments rented temporarily on rental sites.
– The arrangement has been very sophisticated, says one of the police investigators.
The reports poured in to the police between September 2022 and March 2023. Hundreds of people said they had paid a deposit for a second-hand apartment to which they were never given access.
In their investigation, the police came to the conclusion that the fraudsters had first rented apartments they had found on online rental sites over the course of a weekend. They had then posted the same apartment on housing sites and used the name of the person who listed the apartment.
– The fraudsters, who here were the advertisers, have since held viewings of the apartment for people who responded to the housing ad. The plaintiffs have gone to the screenings in the belief that they will get a second-hand contract over time, says one of the investigators in a press release from the police.
Down payment
After the screenings, applicants were offered a long-term contract and paid a down payment.
In total, the fraudsters are said to have cheated themselves around one million kroner, according to the police.
Eight people are now indicted on suspicion of gross fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, and money laundering.