The problem with Dublin is that the rent is so damn expensive. And you know who likes high rents? Rental scammers. They feed off the desperation of people with nowhere to live. The scammer posts an advert for an apartment, the victim wires a deposit to secure the room, and then *poof*... the scammer vanishes into the night with the money.

Here's one such scam that my girlfriend encountered today. Luckily I was here to save her, this time... I guess you can could me "Anti-Scam Man".

First, my girlfriend received this private message from "Sarah" on easyroommate.com:

Hello there !

Beautiful and very spacious rooms to rent in fully furnished 3 bedrooms apartment situated in Dublin City center - a cosy and well served neighborhood (bus+train) with all the city's attraction within walking distance. This apartment is just a short walk from the DART station at Pearse Street. There are a host of amenities on the doorstep including Trinity College, Google HQ, Grand Canal Theatre, Aviva Stadium and a host of bars, restaurants, gyms and cafes.

*3 bedrooms apartment + living room and open kitchen

*Location: City Center

*Size of the flat: 95 m2

*Room: 26 m2

*All rooms are fully furnished

* All rooms with private bathroom

*Kitchen fully equipped (fridge, dishwasher, ceramic glass cook top, oven, ...)

*2 parking spots

*Internet and house insurance included

*Monthly rent - single person: €600 per month (all charges included)

*Deposit is 600€

* Available for short or long-term rental

Pics of the place available upon request :)

If you are interested and you require further information or pictures, please don't hesitate to contact Steph at: stephenierouxt@gmail.com

Hope to read from you soon

Like a fish on a hook, my girlfriend replied, asking Sarah to send photos to her email address. Someone claiming to be "Stephenie Barkley" (stephenierouxt@gmail.com) emailed this to her:

Hello ,

Thanks for your the interest

Two double rooms and a twin room will become available at the end of the month. The common areas are the furnished living room - with a flat screen TV , a music system that can sync with your tablet or mobile device, a well quipped kitchen - Dishwasher, Freezer, Fridge, Coffee machine, Microwave, Oven, Kettle, Toaster ,Mod cons , Cooker. Other features includes Air conditioning, heating, washing machine, cot, iron, ironing board. Wifi is also available.

The apartment is a great central location (The Windmill, Windmill Lane, Dublin 2) and virtually everything you need is within walking distance. it close to Sir John Rogerson Quay, 10 minutes walk from Trinity College & Grafton Street, IFSC. New Spar Convenience Store beside entrance gate. It's beside all public transport & DART.

The monthly rate all inclusive is room is 600EUR. The initial payment is one month rent + the refundable security deposit . You can view tomorrow at 18h00 to 20h00, this will give you an opportunity to meet other potential tenants. If you are not available to attend, you can have a contact visit on your behalf. Alternatively, find some pictures attached.

If your interest in not immediate but for coming months,I will be glad to make reservation for you.

I will now look forward to your questions, thoughts and comments.

Regards,

Stephenie

An attached rental application explained that we needed to pay €1,200 to secure the room (€600 for the first month's rent, and a €600 deposit). We were supposed to deposit the money into the following British bank account:

Bank name - Halifax bank

Account name : KERRY BARKLEY

Account number : 11767569

Iban : GB77HLFX11080911767569

Sort code : 110809

BIC : HLFXGB21W01

There were also photos attached to the email:

It certainly looks good! And a room in an apartment like this would normally cost around €1,500 a month, whereas here it costs just €600 a month.

But to quote Frank Sinatra, "You're just too good to be true". The multiple grammar mistakes, the too-perfect pictures, the incredibly low rent... it's all a bit suspicious. The scam was confirmed after a Google reverse image search on the photos. The search led me to a Spanish website called alwaysonvacation.es, a website for landlords to post their houses and apartments for short-term rent (like Airbnb). Specifically, the search led me to an advert called, "2 Bedroom Holiday Beautiful Apartment En el centro de la ciudad". The photos on the advert are identical to the photos sent by "Stephanie".

So the lessons are:

• Perform a reverse image search on photos that look like they might have come from an Ikea catalogue.
• Ask the landlord or agency to take a photo of the apartment from a slightly different angle. Or ask them to pose inside the apartment with a sign, reddit-style. If they're a scammer, then they won't be able to produce any new photos, because they will have stolen the photos from another site.
• Don't hand over money without first establising the existence of the apartment. Money might be an imaginary concept, but don't exchange your money for an imaginary apartment.