”After I got the pictures and showed my flatmates, we were all agreeing that this seems to be something nice, and also the way the person emailed us was very friendly,” explains Tabitha Giebel, who is studying to be a kindergarten teacher in Munich.
The girls paid their deposit in advance, but when they arrived in Finland they could not find the flat or the landlord. They soon discovered that the advertised flat did not exist at all.
The advert revealed an identity fraud, whereby a woman’s name and personal information had been used without permission. The perpetrator is still at large but, according to the girls, the police are aware of the case.
According to Senior Inspector Sari Kajantie of the National Bureau of Investigation, cases like these are difficult for the victim. At present victims have to prove their identity each time their details are used fraudulently. One year ago a law came into force that allowed victims of identity fraud to apply to change their personal identification number, but only 16 people did so.
”It would be helpful if there were easier solutions,” says Kajantie. ”Even the possibility, for example, for service providers to check somewhere if an identity is stolen or not.”
The girls decided to stay in Finland for their internships, found a new apartment and even got their deposit money back with the help of the banks. The experience has certainly been educational for them.
”It shows that you actually cannot trust anybody, that’s what we all learned from it,” says Giebel.