Police officers from Karpacz and Szklarska Poręba are conducting investigations into accommodation fraud in these towns. “Through an online portal, the victims found accommodation offers and then paid a deposit or the full amount,” says Sub-Inspector Edyta Bagrowska, press officer of the Municipal Police Headquarters in Jelenia Góra. “When they arrived at the location, it turned out that they had fallen victim to fraud

The police advise carefully and thoroughly checking accommodation offers:

Scammers operate by posting very attractive offers online, on auction portals or fake websites, featuring excellent locations, reduced prices and photographs of beautiful rooms, apartments or cottages. Scammers offering nonexistent accommodation demand payment of a deposit or the full amount, and after the customers arrive, it turns out that they have fallen victim to a crime.

And she adds:

We recommend not leaving accommodation booking arrangements until the last minute, exercising particular caution when booking offers at very attractive prices, and being wary of exceptional bargains. It is best to compare the rental price with prices for accommodation of a similar standard and in a similar location. Let us gather as much information as possible about the property we want to book, and let us not rely on reviews from satisfied customers available on the property's website, as they may be fabricated.

What should arouse our suspicion?

The officers advise:

Let us be careful if very little information is provided on the property's website, because the more anonymous an advertisement is, the more suspicious it is; let us check whether the address provided actually exists. Properties operating legally should be registered with the Municipal or Commune Office, or in the Central Register and Information on Business Activity.

We recommend paying the deposit into a bank account; any other proposed method of transferring money should arouse our suspicion. Let us ask for an invoice, bill or receipt for the deposit paid, and keep all documentation related to the transaction, as well as all correspondence related to the booking.

Let us recall: fraud can carry a penalty of between six months and as many as eight years in prison.