The real Hustle – The flat rental scam
Posted by AwarenessThe flat rental scam
Definition: The flat rental scam is an excellent example of a group of hustlers, selling something that just doesn’t belong to them. In the concrete example that we are about to analyze, this ‘something’ just so happens to be –don’t be surprised- a flat!
Some background information: Scammers can gain access to an empty flat in several ways. They can ‘cooperate’ with unethical estate agents, rent the flat themselves using a fake id or simply use the old method of breaking and entering. Now the trick kicks in after they have gained access to the flat; but we will discuss that a bit later.
This scam can be performed by just one individual but ideally there should be at least 2. The main idea is that the first scammer will play the role of an estate agent while the second scammer (and all others, if there are more than 2 people in the gang) will pretend to be someone who is interested in renting the flat. Although 90% of the scam is performed by the first scammer, the other 10% that the second scammer performs is so crucial that it can be a deciding factor on whether the scam will be successful or not.