Woman arrested in south Tenerife for property rental scam

The Guardia Civil are investigating a 43-year-old woman for an alleged scam involving nearly 5,000 euros, committed through fake property rentals in the south of Tenerife. An official statement from the Guardia Civil reports that the suspect allegedly defrauded her victims by deceiving them, posing as various figures related to the real estate sector, such as the owner of various properties, an intermediary, or a real estate agent, depending on the case and victim.

The scam began with advertisements on well-known websites dedicated to long-term rentals, in which she announced the availability of fictitious properties located on the island. She would then convince the interested parties who contacted her about renting the property that they were real.

According to the statement, the woman managed to get these supposed clients to deposit different amounts of money as a reservation or security deposit, totalling 4,715 euros in stolen funds.

Once the victims made the transfer, they lost all contact with the woman responsible for the ads or were provided with false information or excuses for not delivering the property, leaving the victims in a situation of financial loss without the promised accommodation.

Following complaints filed by the victims, specialized agents from the Playa de las Americas online team initiated an investigation in which they gathered sufficient evidence to confirm the criminal activities and identify, locate, and investigate the accused for an alleged case of continuous fraud.

The proceedings conducted have been submitted to the Court of Instruction No. 3 in Arona.

Recommendations to avoid scams:
The Guardia Civil advises that to avoid falling victim to a scam, it is recommended to always be sceptical of advertisements that seem financially too good to be true, and not to make payments outside of trusted advertising platforms or on unknown websites with dubious reputations.

Furthermore, it is advised never to share personal documentation, banking credentials, or codes received via SMS over the internet.