Latvian rental market of real estate has long been a favorite destination for all kinds of liars and greedy people, wanting to withdraw money from unsuspecting people. The bet is made on miserly people that appeal to brokers that offer low cost mediation, unaware that they are dealing with a fraud and risk losing all the money, transmits ee24.com referring to the baltic-course.com.
Today we know a lot of different methods of cheating the consumer. One of the most characteristic feature of the coming deception is a firm consisting of one man sitting in a small office and requiring advance payment for his work. Client's told that he has to pay some amount of money, after which a "phony" cooperation agreement is signed. The mediator receives the money, provides the client with a list of "free" apartments. The problem is that the flats on the list are eather not available fo rent, or the contacts can not be reached. When the indignant customer returns to the broker, he is given another list of same type.
The Internet is full of proposals of apartments for rent with a known inactive phone number and an offer to contact by e-mail. In the correspondence it appears that the landlord is non-resident and lives outside the country, but he is ready to send the key via express mail if the customer will pay a deposit to the Skrill account (Money Bookers). Often the client even is being assured that if the apartment is not suitable, he can return the full amount of the deposit. Of course, that's a lie.
Particularly audacious fraudsters copy all photos of objects from the sites of reputable companies and put them on their sites at a low price. This introduces potential clients to err, and they turn first to those who offer a lower price. Attracted client is offered to hire another object of equal value. And in extreme cases, the scammer asks the client to wait, and at that time negotiate with the official intermediary organization.
Experts warn that the keys of the apartment are not the proof of ownership, so before you make a deal, make sure that the person concluding a contract has the right of signature. All the information about the owner of the object for a small fee can be found at Land Registry site www.zemesgramata.lv.
In addition, experts point out that honest companies check all powers of attorney and documents proving ownership on their own.
Text: Ivan Ulitin, ee24.com