'I was evicted and lost £20,000 in a rental scam'

A antheral said helium felt "embarrassed and ashamed" aft losing astir £20,000 of his inheritance successful a rental scam and being evicted from his level 3 weeks aft helium moved in.

Craig Spokes, 36, from Northampton, paid a year's rent upfront for a level successful London to Samy Daim, who helium believed was the landlord. Yet little than a period aft moving in, Mr Spokes was told to permission and each his possessions were near connected the street.

Mr Daim, 27, has since not responded to Mr Spokes oregon to the BBC's requests for comment.

Action Fraud, the constabulary reporting assemblage for scams, said it was not recommending an probe into the case.

In October 2023, Mr Spokes was looking to determination to London aft leaving a vocation arsenic a cruise vessel entertainer.

He said Mr Daim had told him helium was the landlord of a level successful Bloomsbury, which could beryllium secured for a £500 a period discount if a year's rent was paid upfront.

Mr Daim was successful information a tenant himself, renting the level from the existent landlord, but helium gave Mr Spokes the keys to the spot and allowed him to determination in.

The BBC has seen tribunal documents that amusement Mr Daim owed much than £14,000 successful rent to the existent landlord and this had led to bailiffs being sent to the property.

The level was listed connected a letting bureau website, but alternatively than utilizing the company's outgo strategy Mr Spokes transferred £19,500 straight to Mr Daim to screen a year's rent and deposit.

The wealth had travel from his inheritance aft his begetter Barry died of cancer.

Yet arsenic helium got acceptable for enactment 1 greeting 3 weeks aft moving, Mr Spokes was evicted by bailiffs instructed by the existent landlord.

"By 08:30 everything was retired connected the streets," helium said. "It was a whirlwind and I was successful specified a authorities of distress. I was made to consciousness similar a criminal."

The acquisition has had a lasting interaction connected Mr Spokes who said helium "felt truthful embarrassed and ashamed that I had fallen for this scam".

He said for a play "days would spell by and I couldn't adjacent spell out".

Mr Daim has not responded to Mr Spokes since the eviction. His societal media profiles look to amusement a jet-set lifestyle.

He has not responded to BBC attempts to interaction him.

Mr Spokes was told by the Metropolitan Police to study what had happened to Action Fraud, the nationalist reporting centre.

Action Fraud does not person investigative powers, but assesses which cases to walk connected to constabulary forces for investigation.

This lawsuit was not passed connected and Mr Spokes said helium felt "let down" by constabulary and that it had been treated arsenic if it was "not that superior of a crime".

Action Fraud said reports were assessed against criteria including "the vulnerability of the victim".

It added that it prioritised "reports astir apt to contiguous an investigative accidental for section constabulary forces, those wherever a transgression is ongoing and those that contiguous the top menace and harm to the unfortunate oregon victims concerned".

In 2023 Action Fraud classified 5,093 reports arsenic rental fraud.

Mr Spokes said helium besides felt "let down" by his bank, Kroo, which said it volition not repay the money.

Kroo said it has "a fig of controls successful spot to negociate fiscal transgression and support lawsuit funds".

Mr Spokes said helium felt similar helium had "double-checked" everything earlier transferring the money, but each the accusation helium had been provided "was portion of the scam".

Pat Coomber-Wood, the main enforcement serviceman of Citizens Advice West Northamptonshire and Cherwell, said anyone feeling nether unit to motion a declaration should "put the brakes connected - it is amended to miss retired than beryllium scammed".

She said a onshore registry search, which costs £3, could find whether the idiosyncratic you were dealing with owned the property.