A LOCAL estate agency is warning landlords and vendors about a “highly sophisticated” scam taking place across Bournemouth.

Martin & Co Bournemouth have identified an increasingly common scam in which ‘potential homebuyers’ view properties and claim to be an interested vendor.

A spokesman for Martin & Co said: “The fraudsters will find available properties, then attend house viewings under the pretence that they’re an interested buyer. Before any negotiations and transactions are made, these ‘homebuyers’ are themselves listing the property on social media sites such as Facebook marketplace and purport to be the owner, inducing tenants to rent through them.

“Their only interest is to fraudulently take the rent and a deposit - then disappear. It’s really unfortunate. The police claim it’s a civil matter but to us this is fraud and forgery.

“It is a highly sophisticated con as in one instance, we found two men living in a property that was for sale. They or the fake owner had broken in, changed the locks and produced a fake AST (tenancy agreement). Something needs to be done.”

Due to the fake AST, the landlord was not legally able to remove the scammers from the property unless they proved the agreement was forged. Following court proceedings that took over a month, the false tenants were eventually evicted, leaving behind needles, syringes, as well as costly damage to the property.

Court costs and reparations to the property cost approximately £5,000.

In a statement to the Daily Echo, a Dorset Police spokesperson said: “We received a report on Monday, January 18, 2021, that a vacant property on Carysfort Road in Bournemouth had been rented out by an unknown third party on social media. It was also reported that the locks had been changed at the property.

“An investigation was launched into the matter, which includes elements of civil and criminal law. It is currently being reviewed for any further lines of enquiry.”

One landlord whose property was involved in one of these scams said that he was “shunted” by police. “I’ve had three people scammed. One woman gave notice on her current accommodation, arranged for removals and ordered furniture, only to later discover she was corresponding with the scammers.

“People have lost thousands of pounds and the police don’t want anything to do with it. I was told by an officer that I hadn’t had a crime committed against me and that it was a civil matter. How can that be? I’m going to push the police further on this.”

Martin & Co has urged any people looking to buy or rent property in Bournemouth to be extremely vigilant and to complete plenty of research, especially when looking on social media sites such as Facebook marketplace and Gumtree.