Renting fictitious apartments with a deposit: a new Balkan scam, the activities of fake agents.

The cases of apartment rental fraud are becoming more and more common in Croatia. Especially many such cases occur in Zagreb, where the market is the largest, so criminals see their opportunity. They rent out fictitious apartments and, of course, take deposits for them.

It looks too good to be true - a stylishly furnished apartment with new furniture in an attractive part of town for just €450 a month. And in most cases it is, but those who fall into the trap find out too late.

The liar scammer poses as a real estate agent and has a perfectly thought out ruse. A person would think - it can't get any better than this. But when he takes a deposit,''It turns out the apartment isn't his at all.

The scheme is well known: fraudsters tell interested parties that there is a lot of demand for this apartment and if they want to keep it, they need to put down a deposit as soon as possible, otherwise the apartment will go to someone else. - People in desperation tend to pick any property they see, especially when an attractive price forces them to react quickly. People looking for such apartments know it's their only chance, so they are likely to pay the money quickly without doing anything," says real estate agent Sanjin Rastovacs.

Often people who have been defrauded are reluctant to report a case of fraud. The police say this is wrong,''because the chain of fraud continues, and add that fraudsters can be quickly identified, you need, for example, to request a copy of the property certificate or apartment rental agreement. - Since a potential fraudster, when it comes to the rental contract, is likely to refuse to rent only in person or through an official agency, but in no way enter into any contract with him over the Internet - says Mislav Švigir from the warning service of the Zagreb Police Headquarters.

Internet fraud is nothing new, but the cunning and resourcefulness of some people goes so far that in recent months many people have been left without their mortgages, and persons from neighboring countries are often mentioned doing such things on our territory.'''(HRT)