Third-level students have been urged to be aware of rental scams as they scramble for accommodation ahead of the new university term.
More than 250,000 students are expected to attend a third-level college this year, with over 100,000 living in the private rental market.
Due to a shortage of rental accommodation, students can feel under pressure to hand over a deposit quickly, without fully checking whether the accommodation on offer is genuine.
Lukas Dwan, a fourth-year student in IADT, was the victim of a rental scam in Dublin two years ago.
"It was August and I was on all platforms on where to find houses so I'd a lot of emails coming in," he said.
"Then there was this one email that showed me this apartment in Dublin right in the centre and it was a good price."
Lukas was at the Electric Picnic music festival at the time he clicked on the email. When he was told he could not view the house because the renter's parents were ill in Germany, he accepted it without thinking about it.
"I kind of rushed it," he said.
"I paid a month’s deposit and a month's rent and I signed a contract, so I thought it was legit"
It was only after he had paid the requested €1,800 that he began to get suspicious. His bank told him there was nothing he could do as the money had been transferred to a German bank account.
He also went to gardaí, but they were unable to help him.
By the time Lukas realised he had been scammed he was not able to find another place to live in Dublin.
He had to live at home in Kilkenny until Christmas and made a two-and-a-half-hour commute into Dublin each day to attend his lectures.
National housing charity Threshold, as well as the Irish Council for International Students and the Union of Students Ireland, have launched their annual 'Scamwatch' campaign to raise awareness around fraudulent rental accommodation.
Threshold is urging students to contact them if they are suspicious of an advert for rental accommodation or if they are worried that they may be scammed.
Threshold campaigns officer Cat Clark said: "We continue to see students come to us with queries relating to scams, and thankfully, our advisors have managed to prevent a number of clients avoid scams, saving them significant financial loss.
There are several checks Threshold can make if someone is worried that a potential rental accommodation is a scam such as checking the Residential Tenancies Board register of tenancies as well as make an assessment based on the details they are provided by the caller.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Clark said anyone in doubt can call Threshold where advisers will go through the advert, or correspondence with the landlord or letting agent. She said staff are trained to identify red flags and know what to look out for.
"Contacting Threshold won’t cause much of a delay in the process (of getting a property)".
She explained that Threshold has successfully prevented several scams from taking place.
She said some scams are highly sophisticated, but generally, if something sounds suspicious or too good to be true, it is most likely a scam.
Threshold’s helpline is open Monday to Friday, 9am-9pm at 1800 454 454, with webchat at www.threshold.ie/get-help/ for any renter in need of advice or support.
