Police are looking for a woman who defrauded 17 families with a false rental bargain in downtown Madrid

The National Police is trying to locate a woman who, during May and June, allegedly defrauded 17 families to whom she rented an apartment that she did not own on Calle de Hortaleza, in the center of Madrid, near the Gran Vía. The case is being investigated by the agents of the Centro police station. The alleged scammer offered an attractive 50-square-meter furnished ground floor apartment on a website for a bargain of 720 euros, a very low price in the area where similar apartments are located for about 1,200 euros.

The scammer entered the house for rent in January and between April and May she leased it without the landlady's knowledge. Many people contacted her from whom she demanded a bizum of 100 euros as a signal. Then he stayed with the future tenants to sign the contract and receive between 1,500 and 2,100 euros. He even gave some of them the key to the house.

When the new tenants were arriving at the house last week, they found that the key would not open and that there was already a family living inside the house, Juan David and his partner, the first to rent the house to the alleged scammer.. When they called, the landlord opened them surprised, who explained that the house had already been rented by him. “Everyone had a key to the apartment, but they could not enter,” says Juan David, who in a day and a half was met with the arrival of 15 families. They had all been rented their houses by the same phony.

The Police calculate that the fake has been able to pocket between 15,000 euros and 20,000 euros with the scam. They try to track her down and hope to stop her very soon. Her supposed mobile phone does not give signals and nobody knows anything about her at the address where she supposedly lives. This is a woman in her 40s, dark-haired, with gray hair and no teeth. He has a police record for similar events.

The deception of those affected is similar, although some were scammed more money than others. Thanks to a review on the ad portal, it was attracting its victims. He showed several of them the furnished apartment. He asked some for 1,500 euros and others up to 2,500.

After visiting the house, he closed the contract. They paid him the money and he gave them the key. He agreed with the majority to enter between June 6 and 9. Some were delayed in their entry, alleging that the current tenants were delaying their departure. What the scammer did was change the lock before leaving, so the key she gave everyone was not going to allow her to enter the house. He only gave the real key to Juan David, the first tenant to enter the house after paying 1,200 euros and a deposit of 500 euros.

One of the victims is Marina, a 25-year-old girl. «They offered me the apartment for 700 euros and we fell. All our dreams vanished very quickly. Then I found out that he was renting it out and that the owners did not know anything, “he said yesterday.

Another of those affected is Naomi. They scammed her out of 2,300 euros. «I stayed with her so that she would give me the key, sign the contract and give her the rest of the money. He gave me the key that did enter the door of the house and the key that did enter the portal. Three days after paying and handing me the keys, as soon as I got home, my husband put the key in and couldn't open it.. More boys began to arrive, more people, more couples. He had deceived everyone, “added this woman.

Sandra, the real owner of the house, pointed out that she rented her house to the alleged fraudster five months ago for around a thousand euros. «Last Sunday an alarmed neighbor called me telling me that there was some altercation at the door of my house and what I found was some people living in my house that I did not know at all, another couple I think I remember, and at the moment they arrived yet another couple.” “Everyone had a key to the house and when they tried to open the key it would not enter,” added the owner.

The scammer had given all the victims different fake names and several cell phones. He signed a false contract and gave them a receipt for the money received.