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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Lauren Harte

Northern Ireland Housing Executive issues warning to tenants about rent scam

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) has issued a warning about a new rent scam targeting its tenants.

The Housing Executive took to social media on Wednesday to alert the public after some of its customers said they had received unsolicited calls.

They were asked to pay £10 extra in rent so that NIHE can carry out repairs to their homes.

Read more: WhatsApp scammers pretend to be daughter in bid to steal father's money

The housing body told its tenants that it would never contact them "out of the blue to ask for your personal information or bank details".

The NIHE, which is Northern Ireland's biggest landlord and manages 85,000 homes, warned tenants that the fraudsters "may already have some information about you, and could pose as Housing Executive staff, or one of our contractors".

It said there may be attempts to convince customers to make payments over the phone, divulge more personal details or click on links sent to them via unsolicited emails.

"We will never call or email you to ask you for your bank account details to set up a direct debit for your rent account unless this is something you have requested from us first," the NIHE said.

It also told tenants not to be afraid to end a call if they think it is suspicious, and requested that all such incidents are reported to them.

"If you receive a suspicious phone call or email from someone claiming to work for or represent the Housing Executive, report it to us by calling 03448 920 900," it added.

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