In the past 13 months, there has been 164 reported incidents of rental fraud, and more than £152K losses in West Yorkshire.

The woman, who would like to remain anonymous said she was looking at a three-bedroom property in Eccleshill but before she had even viewed the property, she was asked to send over a £600 deposit.

She said: "As soon as I was sent the pictures I knew something didn't add up so I knew I was getting scammed so I played along with it.

It started when I posted on a Facebook group asking if anybody knew of any available properties, and I got a message from a girl saying 'message me I work for landlords' and she asked me what I was looking for."

The woman then arranged to meet a landlord to view a property, but he refused to give her the house number because it had 'been robbed before'.

He then asked her to put down a £600 deposit before the meeting to secure the property because there were 'other people interested.'

She added: "I thought it was strange that he wouldn't give me an address because I'd been through estate agents before and they always had given me a door number. And in the pictures, the lounge was old-fashioned like you can imagine a grandma's, and the bedrooms were just like a bed and a bedside table so it didn't really add up."

The landlord then sent through a 'reassurance letter', a picture of his passport, and a tenancy document.

The lady added: "I've lived by myself since 2016, so I've seen tenancy documents and it's not something you'd see before. I knew when I got the pictures and when he cancelled the meeting I knew it was a scam."

She added: "I'm just glad it was me rather than someone that would fall for it. I just want to tell people, definitely don't pay for something that you've not been to view yet. Not everyone on Facebook is scamming you, there are some genuine landlords on there but you just don't know."

Action Fraud says to follow these steps when looking for a property to rent:

• Do not send money to anyone advertising rental properties online until you are certain the advertiser is genuine.
• If you need to secure accommodation in the UK from overseas, seek the help of the employer or university you are coming to, or get a friend, contact or relative to check the property exists and is available.
• Do not pay any money until you or a reliable contact has visited the property with an agent or the landlord.
• Ask for copies of tenancy agreements and any safety certificates such as Gas Electricity or HMO Licence.
• Do not be pressurised into transferring large sums of money. Transfer funds to a bank account having obtained the details by contacting the landlord or agent directly after the above steps have been followed. Be sceptical if you’re asked to transfer any money via a money transfer service like Western Union.
• If fraud has been committed, report it to Action Fraud.

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