A New York Times bestselling author has revealed how she was duped out of thousands by a Scots flat scammer.

English-born American author Jane Green, whose books have sold over 10 million copies and been printed in over 25 languages, has come forward to share her story in the hope it prevents others from falling victim to the same unscrupulous scams. 

Jane’s son is a student at St. Andrews University and has been looking online for accommodation for his next year amongst many other students due to a housing shortage in the seaside town.  

Jane’s son believed he had found the perfect flat advertised on Facebook. They spoke to the ‘landlord’ of the flat on the phone who was described as very charming and explained that they had received 54 applications but they had chosen Jane’s son. To secure the flat, they needed to pay a deposit by the end of the day.

In the panic of trying to secure the flat, Jane had forgotten to check with her son that he had received a lease and signed it before sending over a deposit of £2250 via bank transfer to the ‘landlord’. An hour later, the ‘landlord’ called Jane to explain that he had made a mistake and that he needed her to pay the first months rent in addition to the deposit.

READ MORE: 5 top online scams to be aware of and how to avoid them

At this point, Jane began to feel that something might not be quite right but with the concern that they might not be able to find other accommodation for her son, she paid another lump sum to the ‘landlord’.

Jane then began to do some research into the companies the ‘landlord’ had said he was affiliated with and discovered that they do not actually exist and that she had in fact been scammed. In total, Jane lost almost £4000 to the fraudster.

However, the author was then able to play the scammer at his own game and trap him into revealing his identity. She convinced him to video call with her, under the pretence that she would need to video call him to transfer more money to him to make up the full sum for the months rent. When she got him on the call, she screenshotted images of his face and put them on blast to her 160,000 social media followers. 

Within an hour Jane had heard from eight people who recognised him or had previously been scammed by him. From information provided by her followers, Jane discovered that her scammer was serial fraudster who has had previous convictions for similar offenses, he is also the son of a famous Scottish businessman and MBE.

After sharing the author's story, The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) urged the public to be vigilant amid housing scams on social media platforms. 

John Herriman, Chief Executive of CTSI, said: “Online scammers are very skilled at making their ruse seem real and playing to consumers needs. In this example, the scammer prayed on Jane’s desperation caused by needing to find accommodation for her son to rush her into making a decision. Key things to remember when looking for properties using online platforms are: review, research and never rush. CTSI urge online platforms to be hyper-vigilant to the presence of scammers on their sites and to pursue action swiftly to protect consumers when notified of these issues. 

“As ever, we encourage consumers to remember that there nothing to be embarrassed about if they think they have been a victim of a scam. It’s important to report it as soon as possible so Trading Standards can provide you with the help and support that you need. Jane impressively managed to uncover the identity of her scammer by taking to social media to talk about her experience. It is important to share your experiences if you do fall victim to a scam, silence only ever benefits the scammer.”