Tenants looking for rental accommodation in Oxfordshire are warned about the money transfer scams conducted by bogus landlords who advertised their “property” on the free internet websites.

Oxfordshire Trading Standards warned the public about fake advertisement of rented properties listed on the free internet websites. Evidence from victims described that once the tenants contacted the bogus landlord, a wire transfer and transaction codes were requested as a proof of sufficient funds.

This is the second warning in 6 months about the fraudster targeting the public through the free advertising websites. A few months ago, University students were warned about “fake” landlords advertising rental accommodation on free websites.

Since there is no verification of users using the free advertising websites, Oxfordshire Trading Standards warned that it is nearly impossible to catch the “criminals” and reclaim the money back.

Gumtree, the free internet-based advertising website, demonstrated their regrets for anyone who had become a victim of fraud through using their community channel and publicised that they did their best to protect every user. They further highlighted that a vast majority of their users had safe and successful experiences of using the site.

Victims and users are urged to report to the relevant authority if they come across any fraud-like advert displaying on any websites.

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