Homehunter, 34, loses £1,700 after being fooled into renting a non-existent flat through bogus Airbnb website set up by fraudsters

A woman was conned out of £1,680 when she was tricked into renting a non-existent flat by a fraudulent Airbnb website. 

Laura Shone, 34, found a flat in Islington listed on Facebook Marketplace for £880 a month. 

But when she was told the 'owner' usually rented it through Airbnb but wanted a longer tenancy due to the pandemic, she was directed to a fake website.    

Laura Shone (pictured with her boyfriend Roby Guizardi), 34, was conned out of £1,680 when she was tricked into renting a non-existent flat by a fraudulent Airbnb website

She then received an email which asked questions about herself, her work and when she was moving in.

'He said he would send us a link to allow us to book a viewing,' Ms Shone explained.

'It didn't sound anything out of the ordinary.'

The couple were asked to pay a month's rent and a deposit to view the property - which Ms Shone's boyfriend, Roby Guizardi, was unsure about.

'I was asking him to trust me because I was so excited about getting a place in Highbury and Islington for that much money,' she said.

She found a flat in Islington listed on Facebook Marketplace for £880 a month. But when she was told the 'owner' usually rented it through Airbnb she was directed to a fake website which made her pay one month's rent and a deposit before being able to book a flat viewing 

'That's where I was the fool.

'I feel stupid talking about it, because looking back now there were so many red flags, but at the time I didn't think it was out of the ordinary.'

She got sent a link to pay through a page which looked like the spitting image of Airbnb's website.

'It had my name on it, like my AirbnB account - the scam was so clever and convincing,' she said.

Confirmation emails which she received looked exactly like those from the rental website.

It was only after she paid the money that she realised she had been tricked.

She got sent a link to pay through a page which looked like the spitting image of Airbnb's website

She said the man's responses started not making sense and he wouldn't give a time to meet at the property.

'I eventually realised it was a scam as the ''contact us'' and ''terms and conditions'' were not clickable, but by then it was too late,' she revealed.

'It had my name on it, like my AirbnB account - the scam was so clever and convincing,' she said

'The person who I had been speaking to was very responsive - there was no indication that something fishy was going on.

'When we were arranging to meet at the property that was the first time I got suspicious - he didn't give a time.

'I started to get this horrible doom over me - the wave of ''oh my God I've been scammed''.'

The scammers went quiet and the website disappeared after Laura realised she'd been tricked.

She contacted Action Fraud and her bank for help.

Luckily she managed to get her money back through the Direct Debit Guarantee. 

The photos the scammers used are from a real flat in the block they advertised.

It is currently listed on RightMove for £1,885 per month, £1,000 more than Laura was promised. 

Ms Shone said: 'If I stop it happening to one other person, and it makes other people think before transferring money then it will be worth it.'

Citizens Advice found scams boomed during lockdown, with one in three Brits saying they had been targeted. There had been a 20 per cent increase in contact to their fraud helpdesk. 

With the boom in scams, Action Fraud and UK Finance - a group which represents the country's major banks - have launched the Take Five To Stop Fraud campaign.

It reminds consumers to always take a moment to stop and think before parting with their money or information.

Katy Worobec, from UK Finance, said: 'During this pandemic we have seen criminals using sophisticated methods to callously exploit people's financial concerns, impersonating trusted organisations like the NHS or HMRC, to trick them into giving away their money or information.

She contacted Action Fraud and her bank for help. Luckily she managed to get her money back through the Direct Debit Guarantee

'The banking and finance industry is tackling fraud on every front, investing millions in advance technology to protect customers and working closely with the government and law enforcement to stop the criminal gangs responsible and neutralise the threat.

'We would always urge people to follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign to keep their money and personal information safe from fraudsters.'

The Metropolitan Police also has 10 rules to avoid scams, the first being: 'Be suspicious of all ''too good to be true'' offers and deals.'