Students are targeted by scams where people pose as landlords offering accommodation
Kildare college students are being warned about the prevalence of rental scams ahead of their return to campus next month.
Housing charity Threshold has joined the Irish Council for International Students and the Union of Students in Ireland for what they call 'The Scamwatch campaign'.
The strategy highlights the 'dos and don'ts' of finding accommodation, where to get advice about tenancy rights in the private sector and safeguards to avoid scams.
Students are targeted by scams where people pose as landlords offering accommodation that may be misleading or that does not exist.
False websites are becoming increasingly common, as well as websites that appear as replicas of real letting platforms.
Scammers are also using social media to target students.
The Irish Council for International Students said that students coming from abroad are often more vulnerable to scams, with a survey last year finding that almost one in seven international students had fallen victim to such a scam.
There has been a 65% increase in accommodation scams in the last four years, according to Gardaí.
John-Mark McCafferty, CEO of Threshold, has these tips for students on the hunt for housing:
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