Learn detect online renting apartment scams avoid cheating as in February 2020, just before the start of the coronavirus crisis, the Federation of Real Estate Associations (FAI) warned about the most common cyber scams in the real estate market. To avoid any unpleasant surprises, it is important to follow some tips to know how to detect online scams when renting an apartment. Or when shopping.

According to the FAI “ " the weakness of the housing rental market, with high prices and scarce supply, leads to the desperation of potential tenants and makes them more vulnerable to end up being victims of deception”. That is, to a large extent, what was causing the rise of internet scams in renting apartments. More than a year later (and with a pandemic in between), the real estate market is even more wounded. Therefore, every person who is interested in renting or buying a home has to take a series of precautions to avoid being a victim of a scam.

In the aforementioned article they gave a real example about a case of online fraud when renting an apartment that had reached their ears “" A scammer copied from a web portal an advertisement for a house in Alcorcón, generating his own and offering as a guarantee a receipt with the falsified logo of a real estate company located in this same town”.

Learn detect online renting apartment scams avoid cheating

The modus operandi followed by the real estate market cyber-enforcers, they report, is to enter portals and web pages, copy images of ads of properties for rent and use the logo and even, in some cases, the email and name of real estate agencies, to advertise them later at a lower price.

In this way, they point out, they generate credibility in the tenants and ask for amounts in advance with the excuse of the reservation or for having priority right in the visit of the same.

Learn detect online renting apartment scams avoid cheating

Also the Office of Internet User Security (OSI) mentions in an article scams in housing rentals. They stress that, in recent times, “fraudulent rental ads have increased on the Internet that try to deceive the user with non-existent homes or at a super-cheap price". Although fake ads can be found at any time of the year, they note, " in vacation periods they multiply. In any case, it is important to remain vigilant so as not to be a victim of fraud.”

They also give a series of tips not to fall into a deception by Internet when renting an apartment:

1. Be wary of rentals at very low prices. If you are interested in a specific location, make a comparison with the rest of the rentals in the area.
2. Be suspicious if you detect that the photos of the house are copied from another website (they contain watermarks) or if they are the same as the ones seen in other ads.
3. Do not trust landlords who reside abroad and for some reason cannot show you the flat in person.
4. Be wary if they suggest you make use of intermediaries for the delivery of the keys or the contract. It is fashionable to cite companies like Airbnb or similar, when they have nothing to do with the process, they simply use their name fraudulently to give more credibility to the fraud.
5. Hurry should put you on alert. Cybercriminals are always in a hurry to close the deal as soon as possible.
6. If you are asked to pay through anonymous money transfer services such as MoneyGram or Western Union, do not continue with the process. Nor if a transfer is requested to a bank that is not of the same nationality as the alleged owner.

Learn detect online renting apartment scams avoid cheating

More news:

One in 5 Spanish companies is at risk of default to its creditors, more than 3 times more than before the pandemic

Although the economic recovery from the crisis caused by the coronavirus is beginning to be glimpsed in some economic indicators, health advances in vaccination against the pandemic and the implementation of new measures to stimulate SMEs and companies, the financial situation of many businesses remains very precarious, raising the risk of non-payment of their debts.

So what has warned the credit rating agency Moody's in a recent note to investors, in which he claimed that the major Spanish companies at risk of non-payment to its creditors have increased in the month of may up to 20%, while in the rest of european countries this percentage is declining as a result of the economic recovery after the pandemic, according to Vozpópuli.

Thus, one in 5 Spanish non-financial companies currently holds a Caa rating, which is the rating given by the US agency to assets with low solvency. In addition, Moody's reveals that that percentage has skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic, given that in December 2019 companies at risk of default accounted for 6% of the total, less than 3 times less than at the end of May 2021.

The agency attributes the increase in the risk of non-payment to creditors of the exhibition of the Spanish economy, sectors particularly affected by the coronavirus, as the tourism and leisure activities, according to the journal, which highlights that the note credit issued by Moody's to a 20% of Spanish companies is in the category of speculative and involves low expectations of being suitable for investment due to the high risk associated with its debts.

Despite this low rating, Moody's highlights that there are several factors that are helping the recovery of these companies, such as government stimulus measures, the support of the European Central Bank, high levels of liquidity in the market and the appetite for risk of investors, although it states that the default rate of Spanish companies in 2020 exceeded the European average of 2%.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, several large Spanish companies have been unable to cope with their debts, among which Vozpópuli lists Supermarkets Dia, Codere, Naviera Armas, Deoleo and Pronovias, while in 2021 Codere and OHL have made defaults to their creditors, while PortAventura and Parques Reunidos could be in the same situation, according to Moodys.

The percentage of companies that the US agency considers at risk of default, that is, of suspending payments of their debt, coincides approximately with the estimate of insolvent companies presented in March by the Bank of Spain, which estimated that 18% of Spanish companies had net debts that exceeded their profit forecast for the next 2 years by more than 12 times.