False: The Bank of Spain denies the viral rumor about the dangers of paying rent by transfer.

BarcelonaIn recent hours, reports have gone viral suggesting that the Bank of Spain had issued a warning warning the public against paying rent via bank transfer. According to reports published by various media outlets, the Spanish financial supervisory body has detected an increase in the number of scams involving this type of payment. However, this warning never existed, and the central bank has denied the information circulating online to the ARA. "Payment by bank transfer is normal and poses no risk in itself," sources at the agency assure.

It is true that months ago the bank reported that it had detected an increase in fake listings on online rental portals. Apartments in good condition and in good locations were advertised at ridiculously low prices. However, to access them, the advertisers demanded an advance payment. Once the interested parties made this payment, the hypothetical owners disappeared, and it was impossible to recover the money. Added to this warning are the Bank of Spain's constant reminders that transfers are irreversible: once made, there's no going back.

However, the agency emphasizes that none of this poses any danger when paying rent via transfer and that in no case have they issued any warnings about it on their websites. "It's a secure system that's very popular among tenants," they say. However, they emphasize that it's important to check that the recipient's account number is correct and that it's better to check it more than once than to carry out a hasty transaction.

The fake ads, therefore, are true, but the way to prevent them doesn't require stopping transfers, but rather verifying the authenticity of the property through a visit or a trusted intermediary. Typically, when these cases occur, scammers claim they can't visit or meet in person because they're abroad. They also pressure for quick payment.