Avoid fraud: Never wire money.
Type: Discussions
District: Općenito
Each fraud attempt is different, but they typically involve an an advertiser that is not in the city or in the country, advertise very attractive price, and asks for money in advance, typically by IBAN payment abroad.
Fraudsters most often advertise apartments for rent and ask for first month and security deposit.
To convince you that everything is OK, they direct you to a fake "booking.com" or a fake "Airbnb" or "escrow service" or "courier service" sites, which all look professional but are actually fake and owned by fraudsters.
Never make a payment before you personally meet the advertiser in a public place and make sure that it is the owner of the apartment or an authorized agent.
If you are renting an apartment, inspect the interior in person before any transaction.
If anything is even remotely suspicious, trust your instincts and back out of the transaction.
Example of Fraudulent Ad:
Nice apartment for rent with very attractive price. The pictures and description look great because the fraudster copied them from other ads (and reduced the price).
Advertiser claims to be from abroad.
They ask for payment to be made in advance through a fake "Airbnb" or "booking.com" website created by the scammer himself. Through that fake site, you get instructions for IBAN payment abroad.
Once you make a payment, it's almost impossible to get your money back.