Phantom flat scam ensnares more victims

Five more people have come forward claiming they were duped into paying deposits for non-existent apartments on a travel website after The Sunday Times exposed the scam last week.

A 24-year-old Swedish woman, Åsa Ljusenius, and a young Frenchman, who does not wish to be identified, claim to have fallen victim to Jamie Paul Day.

Mr Day sent a photo of himself to Ms Ljusenius and a scan of his passport to the Frenchman, but ceased contact when they sent him €50 via Western Union and Moneygram respectively.

Last Sunday, this newspaper reported how rooms for rent in seemingly plush apartments in Sliema and St Julian's were being offered at competitive prices by the 31-year-old Briton.

Two foreign women had been conned out of deposits by the deals advertised in the popular Malta 'Housing and Rentals' section of the website justlanded.com, that offers advice and listings to expatriates worldwide. The photo and passport sent to Ms Ljusenius and the Frenchman match those shown to The Sunday Times by other victims. The perpetrator would have had to identify himself as Jamie Day when collecting the money.

The Frenchman was duped last November while abroad, but arrived in Malta shortly after and says he retrieved the money from Mr Day in person in mid-December. He provided evidence of how he lured Mr Day to a Moneygram outlet in St Julian's before demanding his money back.

He confirmed the passport scan and photos seen by this newspaper are the man he met. He also forwarded an e-mail sent by Mr Day on December 21, saying: "Now let's play cat and mouse... I know where you are."

He never informed the police in Malta because he was satisfied when he retrieved his money.

"I think this Mr Day is not a gangster, he seemed like a desperate guy. He must be quite stupid to use his own identity," the Frenchman said.

Ms Ljusenius, due to arrive in Malta next week, paid €50 on November 4 via Western Union for what she thought was a room in an apartment she would share with Mr Day.

Mr Day informed her she had secured the room from February 1, but she has heard nothing since. She only realised she had been conned when reading last week's article, and consequently has nowhere to live on arrival.

Three young French women also contacted this newspaper and said they had sent €215 between them via Western Union on December 20 to secure a flat, but all contact with the advertiser ceased when they paid the money.

However, in this instance the perpetrator called himself 'John Dowd' and he would have had to identify himself as such when collecting the cash.

The women, who arrive in Malta in March, reported the scam to French police.

Although Mr Day was on a three year probation order in Malta for credit card fraud, the police had told The Sunday Times on January 15 they did not know his whereabouts.

The police did not respond last week when asked if they were actively seeking to locate Mr Day and question him over the allegations made in last week's newspaper.

However, the police yesterday said: "Besides the matter concerning jurisdiction, it is very difficult for law enforcement agencies to trace such swindlers despite the fact that on various occasions, the assistance of Interpol and Europol has been sought."

The police added that the Economic Crimes Squad had not received any complaints about the scam.

Meanwhile, justlanded.com warns users not to send money via Western Union or Moneygram.

pcooke@timesofmalta.com.