Toulouse fake subletting scam

A 23-year-old woman from Toulouse is suspected of running a subletting scam in Toulouse. Here's how she did it.

No false steps

Since 2018, a 23-year-old woman has been scamming tenants. The story is fairly standard: in order to sublet "her" studio flat, this young woman from Toulouse posted ads on classified ad sites for private individuals. The title of the ad was "sublet flat in Toulouse city centre". No-one could have predicted that it was a fake ad, as the young woman seemed so honest and serious in her dealings with people interested in subletting the property.

Everything was well put together

When people showed an interest in the property in question by contacting the young woman from Toulouse, she arranged to meet them at the foot of the building. The first thing they noticed was that it was never the same building. But it was impossible for the visitors to know this detail. She then offered her visitors tours worthy of the greatest estate agents.

Once the visits were over and the clients were satisfied and ready to sublet the studio, the 23-year-old presented them with the steps to follow. First of all, they had to pay her one month's rent in cash. Then they had to collect the keys from the building's caretaker. Everything was so well prepared that none of the visitors realised the scam in time.

Of course, by the time they realised that the flat was in no way that of this young woman, the swindler had time to flee far enough away from them, money safely in her bag, to avoid being spotted.

A loss of €3,500

In total, over the last 3 years, around ten people have lodged complaints with the police. The total loss is estimated at around 3,500 euros.

Following investigations, the Right Bank Property Crime Unit managed to identify the alleged swindler. The unit also discovered that the 23-year-old had stolen a chequebook from the owner of a flat on Airbnb, the popular rental platform, and fraudulently cashed almost 800 euros in the process.

Arrested at her home just a few days ago, the young woman from Toulouse was taken into police custody. She admitted to the scam and agreed to plead guilty. She has now been released, but her fate will be known in June.

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