A REFUGEE was conned out of all her savings after being promised a room to rent as part of a cruel scam targeting vulnerable foreign nationals in Cork.

The woman had recently arrived in Cork with just €400 worth of savings to her name which she had put aside to begin a new life. She responded to an advertisement relating to a house share in the city. After exchanging messages with an individual posing as a landlord she agreed to offer up a deposit to secure the room.

However, she was both shocked and devastated to discover the house share had never existed.

The woman was referred to Nasc from another organisation in a desperate attempt to seek out advice and source alternative accommodation.

Staff from the Cork-based migrant rights centre assisted her in finding a place to stay.

Nasc CEO Fiona Hurley said the experience severely impacted the woman’s confidence at a time when she was already vulnerable.

She explained that her story is just the tip of the iceberg as more refugees and migrants become a target for con artists.

“Off the top of my head, I can definitely recollect people who were relatively newly arrived here and didn’t understand the protections that should be in place,” she said.

“They might have met someone through Facebook advertising a room and paid them money only to later find it had been taken from them.

“These people had no way of getting back in contact with the person advertising the property. In the case of the woman who handed over €400, it was unfortunate that it was a scam.

“They had been so desperate for accommodation that they acted very fast when handing over the money.”

She described the victim of the latest scam as a vulnerable young woman.

“She was completely alone in Ireland and they got the entirety of her savings. Life was already really difficult for her and what happened really undermined her confidence.

“It also seriously undermined her trust in people in the community. The lack of faith in people after that must have been really hard for her.”

Ms Hurley said that the repercussions for people affected by crime are not just financial.

“This would seriously undermine anyone’s confidence in their ability to survive and thrive in Ireland.”

She added that the woman who had her savings stolen is by no means alone in her suffering.

“She never got the money back, even though we were eventually able to source her alternative accommodation.

“There are so many similar stories out there and we wouldn’t necessarily hear all of them.”

Fiona described why foreign nationals can be particularly vulnerable.

“Even if it’s €400 they may have budgeted to pay for a deposit. In many cases they won’t have a single other friend or family member in the country they can contact to help them replace or borrow the money. This is very much pushing people into desperate situations afterwards.

“Not everyone has the ability to try to start work immediately and find employment to earn money.

“If you have only recently arrived in the country, it can take weeks for a residence permit to come through and you may not have access to any other funds."