Conman tries to rent out house that doesn't belong him

A ‘private listing’ for the three-bed house in Cannock was posted on Facebook by a user based in Scotland.

The advertised property, in Laburnum Avenue, Bridgtown, came with a rental price of £650 a month plus a deposit of £650.

But unbeknown to two people who responded to the advert on social media, the poster was not the owner.

The genuine owners, Caroline and Phil Powell, were advertising the property for rent through estate agent Bairstow Eves.

The fraud was rumbled when one of the potential victims told a friend of Mrs Powell.

The offender had asked the person to pay the money upfront before he would post the keys first class.

Mrs Powell, 36, said: “It was worrying when we found out.

“We worked hard to make the property presentable, then we find out someone has copied our pictures as part of a scam.”

Mrs Powell, who purchased the property in 2002 has since found someone to rent the three-bed home.

Kerry Battersey, manager of the estate agent’s Cannock office, said: “The seller told the person to send the money and the keys would be posted down – it was worrying to hear.

“Going private over social media such as Facebook is a risk.

“It is important to view the property and meet the landlord before handing any money over.”

Mrs Powell reported the crime to Action Fraud.

But the incident is not being investigated, instead it will be noted for ‘intelligence purposes’.

A spokesman said: “We can confirm that Action Fraud received the report, it was recorded as an information report and therefore will not be sent to a police force for investigation.

“It will however, be held on our system for intelligence purposes.”

Mrs Powell said: “It annoys me it is not being looked out by a police force because it is a fraud, and it could happen again. Action Fraud has not even contacted me yet for screengrabs of what the fraudster said.

“They have shown no urgency in response to the crime.”