An Irish student has warned her fellow J1 travelers (those on summer working visas) to beware of a rental scam in the US that cost her and her friends almost $5,000. Leah Hughes (21), from Clonskeagh in Dublin, had been planning the trip of a lifetime - a summer in Los Angeles with four of her friends. The group wired $4,750 to a man claiming to own a property in Santa Monica on a reputable rental website, but he pocketed the money and left them with nothing. Leah, a journalism student from Dublin Business School, said: "Half of our accommodation money is gone. We've lost 750 euro each, which is half of what we were able to spend so we've decided we don't want to go to LA. I don't want to even think that I'm living in the same area as this guy who did this. “But we still want to go because we've paid for our flights and for our J1 visa but we're going to go to San Francisco instead. We don't have a house yet to stay in because we haven't been able to find anywhere that we can afford." Unfortunately, this kind of scam which cost Leah and her friends is common in the US. Celine Kennelly of the Irish Immigration and Pastoral Center in San Francisco said, "Our advice is, if someone asks you to wire money ahead of arriving here, don't do it. We've had this situation before and many students get scammed this way every year. We want to get the message out there to people that wiring money over to someone you don't know just isn't safe." Instead, students are urged to find a cheap hostel for the first few nights in their city of choice and use that as a base to look for accommodation when they arrive.
hannah brooklyn on 25 Jan 13"A personal loan scam victim warns residents to be vigilant of phone calls from fraudsters. LISA (not her real name), from West Suffolk resident, lost £110 after sending over a code for an online voucher as a fee for someone who contacted her by phone promising a loan. They agreed over the phone that she will be receiving the money within 15 minutes; the money was supposedly for Lisa's new furniture. But instead of receiving the said money, she was asked to pay an additional £295 in voucher form Good thing is that she refused. She rather contacted the police and is now warning residents not to fall prey to such schemes.She said: "I feel absolutely gutted and stupid that I fell for it. They're very crafty and I just don't want anyone else to fall for it. "The company has been harassing me with over 20 calls a day, emptied my bank account and left me nervous of borrowing from other providers." She added. This incident isn't new to Suffolk Police. They have been receiving details of similar occurrences from residents and are also urging people not to provide personal information to cold callers. Ukash was the code given by Lisa, which can be bought from high street shops with cash and spent online using the code rather than providing bank or credit card details. A police spokesman said: "They are never genuinely used as advance fee payment for loans or other similar products. They are simply designed for the purchase of goods from the internet or other retailers. "Anyone offering a genuine loan will not ask for a cash payment up front for the service. "Fraudsters will try anything to get you to part with your cash so if you receive any unsolicited calls from people asking you for cash or voucher details then please do not give it to them." This is a great example that anyone can be a victim of these scams. We must be very watchful and on guard of ourselves in all time. We will never know when fraudsters will attack in any form o
