Scammers are now targeting tenants with a sophisticated new fraudulent scheme, posing as genuine landlords. These fraudsters initiate contact with renters, instructing them to transfer rental payments or other housing-related fees to new, fraudulent bank details. Once the funds are successfully transferred, all communication with the supposed landlord ceases, leaving the unsuspecting tenant out of pocket and without recourse.
This latest method of deception echoes previous warnings about similar apartment rental scams. Earlier reported incidents involved fraudsters impersonating property owners, who would collect a security deposit from prospective tenants and then vanish. The sums demanded for such deposits typically ranged from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles. However, some more audacious scammers were known to demand significantly larger amounts, occasionally reaching 50,000 to 100,000 rubles, before disappearing without a trace.
Clement Ashworth 
Barnaby Whitfield