Sam Read/BBC
Craig Spokes rebuilds his life in Northampton and has a new job after losing almost £20,000
A man said he felt “embarrassed and ashamed” after losing almost £20,000 of his inheritance in a rental scam and being kicked out of his flat three weeks after moving in.
Craig Spokes, 36, from Northampton, paid a year's rent in advance for a flat in London to Samy Daim, who he believed was the landlord. Yet less than a month after moving in, Mr. Spokes was asked to leave and all of his belongings were left on the street.
Mr Daim, 27, has since responded to neither Mr Spokes nor the BBC's requests for comment.
Action Fraud, the police agency responsible for reporting scams, said it did not recommend investigating the matter.
Samy Daim's social media accounts show photos of him in luxurious locations around the world.
In October 2023, Mr Spokes was looking to move to London after leaving a career as an artist on cruise ships.
He said Mr Daim told him he owned a flat in Bloomsbury, which could be had at a discount of £500 a month if a year's rent was paid in advance.
Mr Daim was in fact a tenant himself, renting the apartment from the real owner, but he gave Mr Spokes the keys to the property and allowed him to move in.
The BBC has seen court documents showing Mr Daim owed more than £14,000 in rent to the real landlord, leading to bailiffs being sent to the scene.
Samy Daim's social media profiles show him traveling to places like Thailand, where he is photographed with elephants.
The apartment was listed on a letting agency's website, but rather than use the company's payment system, Mr Spokes transferred £19,500 directly to Mr Daim to cover a year's rent and deposit.
The money came from his inheritance after his father Barry died from cancer.
Yet as he prepared for work one morning, three weeks after moving out, Mr Spokes was evicted by bailiffs commissioned by the real owner.
“At 8:30, everything was in the streets,” he said. “It was a whirlwind and I was in such distress. I felt like a criminal.”
“Embarrassed and ashamed”
The experience had a lasting impact on Mr Spokes who said he “felt so embarrassed and ashamed to have fallen for this scam”.
He said for a time “days went by and I couldn't even go out.”
Mr. Daim has not responded to Mr. Spokes since the eviction. His social media profiles appear to show a jet-set lifestyle.
He did not respond to the BBC's attempts to contact him.
Samy Daim is listed as the sole director of Cobblestone Realty Group Ltd and is shown next to the beach in Key West, Florida.
'Drop'
The Metropolitan Police asked Mr Spokes to report what happened to Action Fraud, the national reporting centre.
Action Fraud does not have investigative powers, but assesses cases for referral to the police for investigation.
This case was not publicized and Mr Spokes said he felt “disappointed” by the police and that it had been treated as if it was “not that serious a crime”.
Action Fraud said reports were assessed based on criteria such as “vulnerability of the victim”.
He added that he was prioritizing “reports most likely to present an investigative opportunity for local law enforcement, those where a crime is in progress, and those that pose the greatest threat and harm to the victim(s) concerned.
In 2023, Action Fraud classified 5,093 reports as rental fraud.
“Controls in place”
Mr Spokes said he also felt “disappointed” with his bank, Kroo, which said it would not refund the money.
Kroo said it had “put in place a number of controls to manage financial crime and protect customer funds”.
Sam Read/BBC
Citizens Advice's Pat Coomber-Wood said people should “slow down” the process of signing a contract.
“Don’t rush”
Mr Spokes said he felt like he had “double-checked” everything before transferring the money, but that all the information he was given “was part of the scam”.
Pat Coomber-Wood, managing director of Citizens Advice West Northamptonshire and Cherwell, said anyone feeling under pressure to sign a contract should “put on the brakes – it’s better to miss out than to be ripped off”.
She said a Land Registry search, which costs £3, could determine whether the person you were dealing with owned the property.
