The lack of decent housing and the exorbitant rental prices in Lanzarote lead the population to desperately search for a house to rent in the different real estate portals and social network pages created for the dissemination of advertisements. Sometimes, this pressing need to find a roof under which to sleep feeds organized groups or individual scammers who manage to deceive those interested and end up keeping the money they ask for as a deposit.
Ana Rosa Barea, a resident of Lanzarote, has contacted La Voz to narrate her experience in which she almost fell victim to an alleged scam through a Facebook portal and with the aim of alerting other citizens in her situation to avoid falling for this type of deception. This citizen has narrated how she contacted an advertiser who published a rental property on the island of Lanzarote on this social network. However, in order to visit it, the alleged owner's requirement is to "make a Bizum or a transfer, and if not, she is not going to show it, because she is not going to waste her time," this citizen said in statements to La Voz.
The telephone number provided by the alleged scammer to make the payment appears on different online portals that warn of scams throughout the country. Even in cities affected by the DANA in Valencia, such as Paiporta. In most cases, the money requested is 150 euros, but in others it amounts to 450 euros.
According to different users on networks who join Ana Rosa's story, the modus operandi of this scam is to offer a surprisingly low rental price compared to other properties on the market. Once interested people get in touch, they are assured that they will only be able to visit the property with a prior deposit and after receiving the money, they block the victims.
This type of scam is being carried out through different social media profiles and using several different names.
The National Cybersecurity Institute has a free cybersecurity help line 017 and instant messaging channels WhatsApp (900 116 117) and Telegram (@INCIBE017) available to the public. In addition, this type of scam can be reported to the official channels of the National Police or the Civil Guard.
