FAMILIES looking to rent a home in the Wellington area were this week warned to beware an online scammer who appears to have targeted the town.

A scammer has allegedly been using fake title deeds to try to scam people who have posted messages on Facebook and Gumtree looking for property to rent in the area - by asking for a holding deposit of hundreds of pounds.

One young Wellington couple with four children desperate to move to a larger home say they almost fell for the scam last week after advertising on Gumtree and being contacted by the scammer.

They told the WWN: “We feel so silly that we nearly fell for it, but we desperately need more room for the children who are growing up that we went for the first available thing because we were so glad to have found a place.”

The couple, who did not want to be named, were contacted about a four-bedroom property in Barrington Way, Rockwell Green that the person allegedly owns locally which is available to rent.

The family then received a photograph of what appears to be a woman’s genuine UK passport and what is alleged to be a title deed to the property involved.

However, they were told that in order to view the home, a holding deposit of several hundreds of pounds would have be paid. The alleged title deed to the property showed a correct address and post code and the ownership details matched those of the woman’s passport.

The Wellington woman told the Wellington Weekly: “It was only because at the last moment one of our friends looked at the document we were sent and said it seemed suspicious that we had second thoughts and did not send the money.

“We had it checked out online and that is when we saw a whole stream of comments on various internet sites from people warning that this person was a scammer.

“I do not know if the passport is genuine and there is a real woman by that name whose identity is being used by the scammer or if it is completely fake. Either way, surely the police should be catching people like this and prosecuting them to stop this kind of fraud.

“We feel so silly that we nearly fell for it, but we desperately need more room for the children who are growing up that we went for the first available thing because we were so glad to have found a place.

“I hope by speaking out about it that we can help stop other local families falling victim to this despicable fraud.”

Wellington town Cllr John Thorne, who was told of the incident, said: “I have referred the information to our local police and asked them to investigate. The problem is that there are so few homes on the market for rent in the Wellington area at the moment, so families are absolutely desperate to find a place and get in before anyone else takes it, and that makes them vulnerable to these scammers.

“In this case, the scammer was using an Australian Government title deed and seems to have Photoshopped a UK heading onto it and an address and owner details to make it look genuine.”

Cllr Thorne said internet research showed the same account had been running similar scams in Norwich, Swindon, Eastbourne, and Inverclyde, Scotland, using various aliases.

Sgt Dan Bishop, head of the Wellington Town Police Team advised not to send money to anyone advertising rental properties online until you are certain the advertiser is genuine

Sgt Bishop added: “Rental fraud happens when would-be tenants are tricked into paying an upfront fee to rent a property.

“In reality, the property does not exist, has already been rented out, or has been rented to multiple victims at the same time.

“The victim loses the upfront fee they have paid and is not able to rent the property they thought they had secured.

“Do not pay any money until you or a reliable contact has visited the property with an agent or the landlord;  ask for copies of tenancy agreements and any safety certificates or HMO licence; do not be pressurised into transferring large sums of money; transfer funds to a bank account having obtained the details by contacting the landlord or agent directly after the above steps have been followed.

Be sceptical if you’re asked to transfer any money via a money transfer service like Western Union. If fraud has been committed report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 of visiting the Action Fraud website: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/”