Saturday 31 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 21174Fraud (accommodation scam) · Co. Westmeath

Gardaí warn of accommodation fraud after woman loses €2,400

In April 2023 a woman paid €1,200 twice, totalling €2,400, into a bank account. She believed the money was a deposit on an apartment in the Athlone area of Co Westmeath that she found on booking.com, but the address is believed to be false. She reported the fraud to gardaí at Ballymahon on Tuesday 2 May 2023, and no arrest or charge is reported in the sources. The advertisement has since been taken down, and Longford Gardaí issued a public warning about accommodation fraud, published on 11 May 2023.

  1. Reported10 May
  2. Arrested
  3. Charged
  4. In court
  5. Verdict
  6. Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
What happened
  • A woman paid €1,200 on two occasions in April 2023, totalling €2,400, into a bank account.
  • She believed she was paying a deposit on an apartment she found on booking.com.
  • The offence is an accommodation fraud, which gardaí describe as a scam.
Where
  • The apartment was said to be in the Athlone area of Co Westmeath.
  • The address is believed to be false.
When
  • The payments were made in April 2023, and the sources give no exact dates.
  • The woman reported the fraud to gardaí at Ballymahon on Tuesday 2 May 2023.
  • The Longford Leader article is published on 11 May 2023, though the source header dates it 10 May 2023.
Investigation
  • No arrest or charge is reported in the sources.
  • Longford Gardaí issued a public warning about accommodation fraud, and Sergeant Damian Bartley advises people to take care before paying a deposit or rent.
Other details
  • The advertisement on booking.com has since been taken down.
  • Gardaí advise victims of such fraud to report it to their local Garda station.
6 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatThe woman paid €1,200 twice in April 2023, totalling €2,400, to a bank account. (longfordleader.ie)
  • whatShe found the apartment advertised on booking.com, and the address is believed to be false. (longfordleader.ie)
  • whereShe believed she was paying a deposit on an apartment in the Athlone area of Co Westmeath. (longfordleader.ie)
  • whenThe woman reported the fraud to gardaí at Ballymahon on Tuesday 2 May. (longfordleader.ie)
  • otherThe advertisement has since been taken down. (longfordleader.ie)
  • otherGardaí advise victims of such fraud to report it to their local Garda station. (longfordleader.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 10 May2023
    Reportedlongfordleader.ie, first report
    Longford Gardaí issue warning over accommodation fraud

    Reports a specific accommodation fraud and a Longford garda warning. The apartment is in the Athlone area of Co Westmeath, so the county is given as Westmeath. The article gives no exact payment dates, only April 2023.

    victim, female