This will be an entertaining lesson for many. Pour yourself a big cup of coffee and enjoy this story.
It's presently the middle of September 2024, and I have been on the hunt for an apartment to rent in Marbella, Malaga, Spain for 26 nights, starting near the end of October into most of November 2024. October is the last month of the high season in that part of Spain, so prices are still high and then drop off more in November. However, I also only need 26 nights but a lot of places provide a deep discount for monthly stays which tend to be a minimum of 28 nights. Now, if you have been following my journey for the past 5+ years, then you know that I prefer to rent direct from owners, property managers, and real estate agents. You can read my detailed process for that here: How to Rent Locally Around the World.
I do always start searching on platforms like Airbnb Booking, as they give me an idea of what accommodations will look like, and I know the prices are crazy elevated compared to local rates and renting direct. I like reading the reviews of various units in different parts of a town because then I learn things about how loud that part of the community might be, walkability, recommendations for things to do, etc. People tend to share a lot of great information in property reviews which is worth reading. During the initial search, I noticed the prices were significantly higher than what I would consider paying, and that's when I start searching for agents and property management companies. Specifics on how I do that is also in the aforementioned blog post, but a quick keyword search in GoogleMaps can identify many, or looking at the Host in Airbnb or Booking can identify if a property is listed by an individual or a company. However, I also like joining the local Facebook Groups for a city, specifically dedicated for rentals. And now this is where I found the scammer.
I found a Facebook Group called, Long & Short Term Rentals in Marbella. I scrolled through all the posts listing properties, and then decided to make a short post myself. It was brief, stating I was searching for a 1 bedroom, sea view apartment for my dates, and I mentioned my budget was around 1200 Euros. Three people replied and messaged me, of which the first person sent a half dozen great photos of exactly what I was looking for, and they unit was 1100 Euros. Great, I thought! This was easy. We messaged back and forth quite a bit, asking each other pretty standard questions. She said she was the owner of the unit and rents it out from time to time. She confirmed that she would be the person checking me into the apartment, and she asked if I was a smoker, was bringing a pet, and if I listen to loud music. Obviously my answers were no to all. Then we start discussing payment. She wanted half sent to her to reserve the unit, and then the other half could be paid in cash upon checkin, or another electronic payment. All of our conversation was normal and standard at this point. Electronic payment options is where it took a turn, and I'm super glad it did as this is where I was saved.
She asked if I use Revolt or Skrill, which I don't but I did say that I use Wise. It's a great App to use for transferring money, especially in different currencies. I would be transferring USD to Euros from a US bank to a European bank. She was receptive to using Wise, so I sent her screenshots of the information I would need of her to make the wire transfer happen (the name and email associated with her bank account, and the IBAN number). That's when she said using Skrill would be easier for her and she politely asked me to download that App and use it. So I looked up the App, downloaded it, and started setting up an account. There's lots of platforms to transfer money these days and they do tend to be popular by region, so I was willing to give it a shot.
Once I set up my Skrill account, I thought it was weird that the App had a large section about sports betting. And that's when my red flag started waving. Why would she want to use an App that had sports betting in it? 🤷♀️ Again, so far everything was pretty normal, EXCEPT, I had skipped an important step in my process. I sent her screen shots and told her this seems really odd to me. And then I proceeded to ask her for more proof that she is the owner of this unit and is legally able to rent it out. The conversation is still very nice and we both start talking about scammers on both ends. I was persistent in asking for some sort of link to any simple website she might have to advertise her unit, or links to a listing on Airbnb, Booking, or similar. She had previously mentioned she has other rentals around Europe, so if she is seriously in the rental industry, she will have some sort of online presence with listings of her units, just to simply the process of sharing details of each unit. She claimed she didn't do any of that, so I asked for some sort of document she would have as the owner of the unit since it's within a condo building, and she wasn't willing to give me anything. That's when I stopped the conversation by thanking her for her time but I was looking to rent from someone with more established property management skills. And then she said, You're welcome, and the conversation ended.
The next morning I was searching online again, and I came across the exact same photos she had sent me. First I found them in a listing on Booking, and within that listing, a property management company, with clear identifying information, was the one posting the unit. I was able find their company website very quickly, and then I found the unit itself. At this point I caught that scammer! I copied and pasted the Booking link of the unit into the message thread we had from the day before, and I said, I found your unit. Shortly thereafter, she blocked me on Facebook and Messenger. I immediately messaged the Admin of the Facebook group in which we had connected, and told the Admin this person was a scammer. He removed her comments and banned her from the group.
If you don't understand what the scam is from all of this, here's the cliff notes:
A person claims they have the ability to rent a place to you.
You two agree on terms, and you send money (deposit) electronically to hold the unit.
The scammer takes your deposit.
At some point they will block all communication and you don't have a rental.
So don't fall for this! Make sure you do your due diligence in vetting the people you want to rent from. And keep in mind there are a TON of scammers who have fake listings on Airbnb and all the other sites. Always click on the profile of the person listing the unit and read everything. If they are vague, message them and get a back and forth conversation going by asking questions about the unit and community. If they suck at communicating, run.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
The best part about all of this, I rented the unit the scammer was trying to sell me in the first place!!
Since I was able to get in contact with the real company that rents that specific unit, I was able to ask a lot of questions and this property management company has clear processes and lease agreements. I did not get the unit for 1100 Euros like the scammer was advertising, but I did get it for 1570 Euros, which I was happy about. A lot of the sea view properties in the specific area I was looking in, were going for over 2000 Euros per month, so this was a good price and I am getting everything I wanted. You can see the property management company and the listing of the unit I'll be living in here: Marbella Skol.
When it comes down to it, I would like to thank the scammer for doing my research for me in finding a sea view apartment right in the heart of Marbella. LOL.
If you find value or entertainment from the content I share and want to show support, feel free to Buy Me A Coffee: https://bmc.link/aSuitcaseandAsmile. It's always appreciated!
Links:
Referral Code for Wise: https://wise.com/invite/ihpc/christinag203
List of several of my rentals by country: STAYS
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