Public warned over scams falsely offering accommodation

Department of Housing urged anyone who encounters online scams to report the activity to gardaí

'If any member of the public has engaged with such an entity online and has exchanged information, they should alert their bank or any other relevant organisation to advise that their data may be compromised.' Stock picture

The public has been warned about online scams posing as the Department of Housing and falsely offering accommodation, with people urged to report any such activity to gardaí.

In a statement, the Department said it had been “made aware that there are a number of online scams currently live purporting to be from ‘Housing for All’ or ‘Ireland’s Housing Plan’ and offering accommodation to members of the public”.

“As with all scams, these attempts purport to be from official sites and we would urge the public to be extremely cautious — to ensure that they are using official departmental websites and not to click on or reply to links which appear suspicious.

The department said that it does not directly engage with the public regarding accommodation provision and never seeks personal details from individuals. 

A spokesperson confirmed that the scams had been reported to gardaí and urged members of the public to do likewise if they encounter them.

“If any member of the public has engaged with such an entity online and has exchanged information, they should alert their bank or any other relevant organisation to advise that their data may be compromised."

Last November, payments firm Visa estimated that online scams cost the Irish economy €71.8m each year. It found the average loss per person was €124.50, warning that fraudulent advertising and AI‑generated scams were fuelling the trend.