By Cillian Doyle.
Gardaí are warning third-level students across the South East of accommodation fraud scams ahead of the 2021/2022 academic year.
It comes as a total of 503 cases of rental scams were reported between 1st February 2019 and 31st May 2021.
Almost half of the incidents occurred in the Dublin Region with just over €900,000 stolen in rental scams over the same time period.
42% of students scammed were under the age of 25 while 72% were under the age of 35.
Gardaí say incidents have been declining in the last 18 months due to Covid-19 restrictions.
University of Limerick says it's optimistic that students will have an on-campus experience this semester, meaning more students will be seeking accommodation.
Colleges are due to resume in less than a month after being mainly online throughout the pandemic.
Gardaí are advising people to be wary of rental scams, particularly at this time of year when students are returning to college.
