- Home » Expat News » Brit holiday rental fraudster on the run in Spain
Brit holiday rental fraudster on the run in Spain
| Published: | 13 Dec at 6 PM |
Want to get involved?
Become a Featured Expat and take our interview.
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
A female British expat is on the run in southern Spain after she was caught conning English tourists out of thousands of euros.
The alleged holiday rentals scammer is now the subject of a manhunt centred on the Costa del Sol after victims of her online fraud complained to local police. Expat conwoman Paula-Louise Neale has been accused of placing fraudulent holiday rental adverts on social media over the past two years. Once potential victims were hooked into the scam, they were told to make their rental payments via Paypal, but once they arrived for their holidays they found their so-called holiday homes didn’t even exist.
Spanish police told local media they were investigating at least eight cases where victims had lost their rental payments and were forced to find and pay for new accommodation. One Briton lost $750 via a booking in Marbella, and was forced to rent another property for a further £600. She made the booking with a ‘Cristina Lori’, one of Neale’s seven aliases, and was furious when she realised she’d been duped.
The alleged fraudster and mother-of-two’s activities were aimed at holidaymakers looking for properties on the Costa del Sol and inland Andalucía, both equally popular with Britons. According to local police, Neale has since changed her name using deed poll to Catherine Paula Jameson, with police asking the expat community to let them know if a person with that name surfaces in their area.
Meantime, it’s bad news for Britons who’ve booked their Christmas break Ryanair tickets to Spain. Pilots belonging to the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association are going on strike for just one day – December 20th, with the industrial action likely to disrupt flight schedules across Europe on the run-up to Christmas. In addition, Italian pilots will strike for four hours this Friday and German pilots are also considering strike action over the holiday.
The alleged holiday rentals scammer is now the subject of a manhunt centred on the Costa del Sol after victims of her online fraud complained to local police. Expat conwoman Paula-Louise Neale has been accused of placing fraudulent holiday rental adverts on social media over the past two years. Once potential victims were hooked into the scam, they were told to make their rental payments via Paypal, but once they arrived for their holidays they found their so-called holiday homes didn’t even exist.
Spanish police told local media they were investigating at least eight cases where victims had lost their rental payments and were forced to find and pay for new accommodation. One Briton lost $750 via a booking in Marbella, and was forced to rent another property for a further £600. She made the booking with a ‘Cristina Lori’, one of Neale’s seven aliases, and was furious when she realised she’d been duped.
The alleged fraudster and mother-of-two’s activities were aimed at holidaymakers looking for properties on the Costa del Sol and inland Andalucía, both equally popular with Britons. According to local police, Neale has since changed her name using deed poll to Catherine Paula Jameson, with police asking the expat community to let them know if a person with that name surfaces in their area.
Meantime, it’s bad news for Britons who’ve booked their Christmas break Ryanair tickets to Spain. Pilots belonging to the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association are going on strike for just one day – December 20th, with the industrial action likely to disrupt flight schedules across Europe on the run-up to Christmas. In addition, Italian pilots will strike for four hours this Friday and German pilots are also considering strike action over the holiday.
Comments » No published comments just yet for this article...
Feel free to have your say on this item. Go on... be the first!
