The Guardia Civil has detained two women, aged 27 and 42 years old, both residents of Arona in the south of Tenerife, for defrauding victims by renting properties for long-term let that didn’t exist.
The investigation has been carried out by agents in Playa de Las Américas after learning that the first victim contacted one of the detained women to rent a property located in the area of Buzanada, that was advertising on a well-known portal for long-term lets.
After making an appointment to confirm the details of the rental property in the town of Cabo Blanco, the defendant managed to get the victim to pay her 600 euros in cash as a reservation/deposit for the property, giving him a handwritten receipt as proof of payment, as reported by the Guardia Civil in a press release.
She also gave the victim various reasons and excuses as to the start date of the rental, saying there were existing tenants that needed to move out, and work was needed to be done before they could move in. However, after this initial meeting, the victim was unable to contact the woman again and realised his money had gone.
As for the second detainee, she operated with a similar modus operandi, managing to defraud her victim of 400 euros for the fictitious rental of a different property in the same area.
With help from the victims and the online portals they advertised on, the police were able to track down the two women and arrested them in Arona where they are now in custody at the courts awaiting trial.
The Guardia Civil are advising people to be cautious in these circumstances, as usually if an advert seems too good to be true, i.e. cheap rent, prettier than usual photos, it isn’t. They also recommend checking to see if the ad is repeated on other web pages and keeping a screenshot of the ads in question, or to use a reputable company.
