Housing Benefit Scam

Housing benefit scams take several forms. In one common version, a scammer poses as a landlord or letting agent advertising a property at below-market rent that supposedly accepts housing benefit tenants, collects a deposit or first month's rent from an applicant, then disappears once payment clears, with the property either not actually available or not owned by the scammer at all. In another version, scammers directly impersonate the housing benefits office, calling or texting existing claimants to say their payment has been suspended or a document is missing, and requesting bank details or personal identification to 'resolve' it.

A further variant targets landlords rather than tenants, with fraudsters posing as prospective housing-benefit tenants who provide fabricated benefit award letters to secure a tenancy, then fail to pay any actual rent. Anyone dealing with housing benefit matters should verify a landlord's ownership of a property before paying any money, and should verify any claimed benefits office contact by calling the agency back on its official published number rather than one provided in the suspicious message.