Sunday 16 June 2024 – 6.20pm
He would pay 1200 euros as a deposit to rent a house in Livorno, but the online advertisement and the subsequent visit of the property with the person who presented himself as a real estate agent turned out to be nothing more than bait to pull off a scam.
In fact, once the money was received, the fake agent disappeared. It was the Carabinieri of Donoratico, to whom the 35-year-old victim of the scam turned, who traced the alleged scammer, a 56-year-old man who was reported.
According to the reconstruction of the carabinieri, the 56-year-old would have published an advertisement on the internet in which he offered to rent an apartment in Livorno. A 35-year-old resident in Donoratico, looking for accommodation for his family, would have contacted the advertiser at the mobile number indicated in the advertisement to obtain information and make an appointment to view the house. Once he had made the visit accompanied by a man who introduced himself as an agent of a real estate agency in Livorno and convinced that he had finally found the house suited to his needs, the young man decided to put forward his proposal for the deposit of the apartment.
In order to finalize the agreement, as usual, the self-styled agent also asked him to make a bank transfer of 1,200 euros as a deposit, made to the IBAN indicated by the agent.
From that moment on, the 35-year-old waited, in vain, for the outcome of the proposal. When he contacted the agent again, he initially provided him with very vague answers regarding the availability of the property visited and the outcome of the procedure and then eventually completely stopped answering his phone calls without returning the deposit paid.
The investigations carried out by the police then led to the identification of the alleged perpetrator of the scam, who was reported for fraud.
The Army’s advice:
If suspicions or doubts remain regarding the identity of recipients of payments for any reason (deposit, online purchases, etc.), it is always advisable to make payments with repeatable forms (ordinary bank transfers) which allow, within a period of time, rethinking and canceling the operation, trying to avoid instant bank transfers and top-ups of prepaid cards in the name of strangers.
In the event of well-founded suspicions of having been the victim of deception or scam, promptly contact the nearest police station providing all the elements and details collected, or alternatively call the emergency number 112 Nue and consult the Advice section on the website institution of the Army.
