"We receive reports all the time, but we see that fraud with fake housing ads is increasing, especially in connection with admissions to higher education institutions," says Lotta Mauritson, national coordinator against fraud at the police.
Student Moa is one of many who have been affected. She was the victim of a housing scam on Facebook, which cost her SEK 30,000.
The scammer used a QR code, an approach that is now on the rise. The landlord's profile stated that she had worked at various companies, including Klarna, which inspired confidence in Moa when the question of credit checks arose. They also discussed for several hours on chat.
– The usual thing is that the process is very rushed and that the person has to pay advance rent. We saw QR codes as an approach some years ago, but now it is increasing again, says Lotta Mauritzon.
New legislation in the pipeline
Many of the scams take place on social media or pages like Blocket and the clearance rate is low when it comes to ad fraud. Some scammers continue to be active despite warnings to the page, but this may now change.
DSA – Digital Service Act is a new EU legislation that is expected to come into play during the autumn. It gives online platforms greater responsibility towards consumers. However, the legislation will not be relevant in Sweden for several years.
Listen to Lotta Mauritzon talk more about how you can protect yourself against fraudsters in the clip above.