A new fraudulent scheme targeting apartment renters has emerged in Batumi. According to the publication "Mash", several people from Russia have found themselves in situations where the flats they had rented were being sublet to other people without the owners' knowledge. The publication reports that real estate agents from Ukraine are involved in organizing the deception.
One of the victims said he rented an apartment for a day and, upon returning, found a stranger inside. It turned out that the agent had rented out the same apartment for a month to another tenant without the landlady's consent.
Under another scheme, fraudsters rent an apartment for a few days, make duplicate keys, and then sublet it for a long term at a price below the market rate. One Russian woman, for example, rented a large two-bedroom apartment in a new building on Pirosmani Street for $1,500 a month for four months. Shortly after she moved in, the actual owner appeared in the apartment.
According to local residents, listings for such apartments are posted at prices well below market rates in order to attract clients quickly and get money. Local police conducted an inspection, but so far without results.
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