Rental Scams on the Rise: Protect Your Money

0:00It's April 2nd. This is Europe News Today, AI-powered story shaping Europe. I'm Cory with the Story. AIB just dropped a big warning in their fraud trend series about scammers hitting rental hunters hard. They're using real estate websites with fake listings to trick folks into paying small deposits, like to secure a viewing and avoid no shows. You enter your card details and boom, that's step one. Next a fake call comes in pretending to be from your bank, saying your accounts compromised. They push you to authorize a payment or hand over online banking info. Scammers then take full control, moving money, adding devices, whatever they want. AIB's head of financial crime stresses how slick these cons are getting, urging everyone to pause and double check if it feels off. Never pay a deposit just to see a rental. And absolutely don't share banking details over the phone, that's a huge red flag. Last week, the banking and payments federation Ireland chimed in with more heat, saying fraudsters pair scam emails with urgent calls or texts to ramp up the pressure.

1:03Irish small businesses lost nearly 19 million euros to these over two years, especially invoice redirects and fake CEO emails. Stay sharp out there, double check everything, and don't let the rush get you. Your money's worth the extra second to think it through.