A girl claiming to be a police officer dwelling in Dundee allegedly scammed a household out of 1000's of kilos, leaving them homeless.
Ben Machin, 21, stated his household found the home they'd been renting for eight years was going up on the market they usually needed to rapidly discover some other place to dwell.
After the household discovered their dream home on Fb Market, they attain out to the one who posted the property advert.
The girl claimed to be a police officer, at present in Dundee along with her household, subsequently the rental means of the property could be dealt with by Airbnb.
Ben, who lives in St Blazey, Cornwall, instructed Cornwall Dwell : "It regarded actually good and promising. It had a backyard which mum preferred and it was huge. The home we're in now cannot even match a correct mattress in my room. It was a large enchancment."
After being instructed they'd lose out on the property in the event that they did not pay a £1,480 deposit, the determined household agreed handy over the money. Ben stated that is when issues went south.
He says quite a few emails had been exchanged between his household and the lady, who insisted the cash had did not undergo.
Ben now realises the lady was solely attempting to stall his household in order that they'd battle to get well their stolen cash.
His retired father, who suffers with diabetes, has now had no different alternative however to take cash from his pension to assist his household survive.
Ben stated: "His stress ranges are by way of the roof. Everybody is absolutely burdened. My sister thought my dad would not need to converse to her once more as a result of she discovered the advert and blamed herself. We're looking for the cash once more and we've to try to put belief in folks once more."
The household have been left with no different alternative however to maneuver their belongings into storage whereas they lease a vacation cottage in Liskeard for just a few weeks.
After that, "the longer term is unsure".
With Christmas simply across the nook, Ben defined the scenario could not have come at a worse time.
He now needs to share his household's story to ensure others don't fall sufferer to comparable scams on-line. For those who imagine fraud has been dedicated to you, report it to ActionFraud.
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