People desperate to own a beach hut along Kent’s 14 miles of coastline are being targeted by scammers, according to Canterbury City Council.
The con artists are listing beach huts in Tankerton that they do not own on auction websites like eBay and selling them for thousands of pounds, much cheaper than the going rate. The criminals are breaking the locks on huts and inviting unsuspecting victims to visit them while claiming they are unable to be there to show them round.
Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Inclusion and Coastal Towns, Cllr Chris Cornell, said: “The golden rule is if something sounds too good to be true, it generally is. As soon as we learned of people selling beach huts in Tankerton they do not own, we informed the beach hut owners and advised them to contact Kent Police and Report Fraud.
"We also notified the beach hut associations, so they could spread the word to their members. We would always advise beach hut owners to be vigilant for the potential for fraudulent activity such as this and to report any concerns they have to the police as swiftly as possible. Our Foreshore team is happy to provide advice on whether a hut sale is genuine if people contact us.
“While hut owners are permitted to sell privately and via whatever method they choose, our advice to prospective buyers is to only purchase huts through agents or the beach hut associations. Sadly, the main victim in scams of this type will always be the unsuspecting purchaser.”
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