Nora felt sure that she would be accepted at Lund University in the fall and therefore started looking at housing already in early July. Through a Facebook group, she came across a housing ad and thought it was just as well to strike directly.
Everything looked good. It seemed like the person had been a student in Lund – and answered every now and then as you normally do when you work, says Nora.
Initially, the person she was in contact with was calm, but then it turned.
The person said that there was someone else who was interested and I thought that I needed to make a quick decision.
Money cannot be traced
She wrote a contract over the internet, however without bank-id, and was approved by the alleged tenant association via email. After that, she was asked to pay a rent and a deposit of a total of 11,000 kronor via the app "Revolut".
It's a recognized app on Trustpilot, so I didn't think much more about it. Afterwards, I've learned that it's an app where you can't trace money.
When the person in question wanted a second pre-payment, Nora's bank blocked the transfer.
My bank thought it was strange and said that I was probably being cheated. I checked up on the tenant association, which existed, but the one who was the chairman didn't exist, says Nora, who started to get more nervous about the contract she had written.
Had a bad feeling
When I wrote to the person that I had a bad feeling, the tone changed and this person replied: "If you don't pay today, it will be a loan. I have your personal identity number".
Nora has reported the incident to the police and according to her, the police have stated that there is no doubt that she has been subjected to fraud. She is not alone in this.
We see that we receive several reports of fraud in connection with semester starts, especially in the fall, says Lotta Mauritzson, crime prevention specialist and coordinator at the National Fraud Center.
Stressing the potential tenant is one of the many methods that scammers use.
It's generally the scammers' best tool, says Lotta Mauritzson.
After the incident, Nora has seen the person post the same ad again and has tried to report the post on Facebook.
I felt that I didn't want it on my conscience, at the same time as I didn't want to get more involved in it, says Nora, who hasn't been able to get her money back.
Fact: Ad fraud in Sweden
TT
People who are cheated through housing ads are cases that fall under so-called ad fraud at the police.
In 2024, the police received 24,813 reports of ad fraud, which was a decrease of nine percent compared to the previous year.
This is a type of crime that has increased since before the pandemic, from 2020 to 2024, the reports have increased by 32 percent.
From January to May this year, the police have received 9,100 reports.
As the admission notices for colleges and universities approach, the police notice that they receive more reports of ad fraud.
Source: National Fraud Center.
