Wire Fraud Scam Alert

We recently learned of a wire fraud scam connected with rental properties. These sham transactions have been 

identified in at least the countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

In this scam, the scammer advertises a property to rent on a website with only an email address to contact them. 

After a potential tenant expresses interest, he/she is contacted by email (in Dutch) for more information. 

The scammers provide the address of the property and some general information and then ask to communicate further 

(in English) – and by email only. If the potential tenant reacts positively to this request, pictures are sent along 

with information about the property and instructions for wiring money (1 or 2 months rent) to consolidate the deal 

so they can send the keys of the property and the legal documents to an Alliance office to handle the transaction. 

Once the money is wired, there is no further contact.

Under no circumstances should you wire any money in this situation. You should always verify the legitimacy of any 

real estate transaction before transferring any funds. Please contact the Alliance office in your country to verify 

the legitimacy of any transaction. A list of regional offices can be found here: Real Estate Sale Department1

We want to alert consumers to this scam so that you can take measures to ensure the security of your information and protect yourselves. For more information on wire-fraud scams or to report an incident, please refer to the 

following links:

Federal Bureau of Investigation: http://www.fbi.gov/

Internet Crime Complaint Center: http://www.ic3.gov/

National White Collar Crime Center: http://www.nw3c.org/

On Guard Online: http://www.onguardonline.gov/

If you have provided personally identifiable information (such as social security number, bank numbers, or credit card information) to an unauthorized party, please contact one of the following agencies to report this disclosure and receive guidance on any further actions you should take to protect your identity:

FTC toll-free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)

FTC online complaint form (http://www.ftc.gov/)

Canadian PhoneBusters hotline: 888-495-8501

Internet Fraud Complaint Center (http://www.ic3.gov/)

Non-emergency number for your local police department.

The government agency in your country is responsible for dealing with fraud.