With the return of tourists to Martinique, many locals are renting out their homes.
But scammers take advantage of this to publish false advertisements and scam holidaymakers, reports France Info Martinique.
To do this, they collect photos from old ads and post new ones, at attractive prices, on other rental platforms.
After having collected the money from the holidaymakers, they no longer give any sign of life and disappear, as a resident of Fort-de-France and a holidaymaker can testify.
Scams on the rise
The first had put his house up for rent, via a website, during the end of the year celebrations in 2020. But, a year later, a tourist from Eastern Europe knocked on his door explaining to him having rented this house for 13 days.
As proof, the announcement, exchanges of emails, as well as a certificate of payment.
However, the owner of the house claims to have never posted this announcement.
In addition, the phone number listed on the ad, which no longer responds, is not his.
Both then quickly realized that it was a scam, and decided to file a complaint.
The tourist, however, lost 1,300 euros.
If he was lucky enough to be able to be accommodated for free by his family, this is not the case for all holidaymakers who must then find new accommodation at their own expense.
Faced with the increase in this type of scam, the police advise owners and holidaymakers to favor real estate agencies.
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Society
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Martinique
Rental
Fraud
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