Gardaí warn students following 30% spike in accommodation scams

Students in sleeping bags protesting outside the Dáil last year over funding for purpose built student housing. Gardaí say the return to college timeframe shows a further rise in housing scams. Photo: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Gardaí have warned students to be wary of accommodation fraud when trying to secure housing for the new academic year with cases rising by 30%.

Scammers are stealing an average of €1,300 from their victims according to gardaí, whose data shows a large spike in the scams from February to July this year, compared to the same time period in 2019 (pandemic years have been omitted).