Housing Scam: The Fallacy of Phantom Property Investments Leading to Ruin

Many people think they're getting a good deal on the Internet when they see tempting offers at reduced prices. But beware: an offer that looks too good often conceals something that is not. What's more, buying a property is not something to be taken lightly. Before buying or renting, it's important to visit the precise location of your future home. Unfortunately, a lot of property scams are rife - and sometimes very successful. These scams take a variety of forms, from false rental advertisements to fraudulent property transactions. The financial and emotional consequences of these scams can be devastating for the victims.

Around fifty victims of fake property sales

Around fifty victims thought they were making a long-term investment by buying a flat. In reality, however, the properties were nothing more than a scam, or in a terrible state of repair. According to Le Figaro, some of them lost their life savings. Célia, one of the victims, her sister-in-law and her husband thought they were going to become joint owners of a flat in the Vendée département (85), worth 853,000 euros. They began to have their doubts when they saw their money going up in smoke, so they decided to contact a nearby estate agency to inspect the property. They were dismayed when the estate agent told them, "You bought the plot at the back. There's nothing there". Unfortunately, this wasn't the only property. Célia had also bought another building with this swindler, for a total of 178,000 euros, which does exist, but is currently in a lamentable state, in danger of collapsing according to the Mayor, who recently signed a safety order for the building.

A long-running scam

This swindler always operates in the same way.   He claims to take care of all the procedures, from the property, to the banks, to the notary. How does he operate? It's very simple: he pretends to buy run-down buildings to renovate them and divide them up into several flats so that they can be rented out. This scam has been going on for years, and in 2011 legal proceedings were opened against him for fraud, misuse of corporate assets and misappropriation of assets.

Curious to find out more about the different types of scams? Have a look at our articles on the DHL scam, the wedding gift scam or the Mondial Relay scam.

Secure your purchases with Obvy

We also advise you to use Obvy to secure your transactions.

Obvy offers a payment method specially designed to secure transactions between private individuals. Whether you are buying or selling between private individuals on ad platforms such as Leboncoin or Vinted, Obvy acts as a trusted third party to help you avoid any scams. 

In the event of a counterfeit scam, you can quickly and easily return the product to the seller and get your money back. What's more, you'll have all the information you need about the seller in the event of legal action.