LOCAL students preparing for CAO offers are being urged to be vigilant for accommodation fraud as figures of reported incidents have surged.

The warning from Am Garda Siochána comes as figures for the first six months of 2025 show reports of accommodation fraud are up by 22 per cent, with approximately 160 cases recorded by An Garda Síochána.

Gardaí are advising people to be wary of rental scams, particularly at this time of year when students are returning to college. Rental fraud occurs when a victim pays money to rent accommodation (typically in the form of a deposit) and subsequently discovers that the transaction was fraudulent.

Examples of rental fraud include when the fraudster claims to be out of the country and cannot show the renter the property unless they pay a deposit. The victim pays the deposit and is at the loss of the deposit. The fraudster is living in the property and shows a number of people the property, gets a deposit from several people and then disappears with the money, or the transaction appears normal until the renter finds that the property doesn’t exist, is already occupied or the keys do not work and the landlord has disappeared.

A garda spokesperson said: “Advice in relation to accommodation fraud, payment methods and red flags/warning signs is available on the An Garda Síochána website www.garda.ie. We advise anyone who is seeking accommodation to ensure that they are well informed about accommodation fraud before handing over any money or making any agreements.”