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Desperate prospective owners of highly sought-after beach huts are falling victim to a callous scam, with fraudsters posing as legitimate sellers of properties they do not own.
Criminals are exploiting the high demand for the coastal assets by cutting padlocks, breaking into huts, and then listing them for sale on platforms such as eBay at low prices, promising a quick transaction.
Prospective buyers are often invited to view the unlocked hut alone, with the ‘seller’ claiming they are unavailable to conduct the viewing themselves.
One individual was reportedly defrauded of over £5,000 after purchasing a ‘ghost’ beach hut in Tankerton, near Whitstable, Kent.
The scammer allegedly claimed to have inherited the hut and was selling it due to a lack of time to use it. The victim, who paid by credit card, only uncovered the deception when attempting to register his new acquisition with the local council’s beach office.
A second potential buyer narrowly avoided a similar fate by contacting the council before parting with any money.
Officials are now urging existing beach hut owners to remain vigilant and inspect their properties for signs of tampering.
A spokesperson for the Tankerton Beach Hut Owners’ Association said: “There has been a fraudulent sale of a hut by a suspect who did not own the hut to an innocent victim where a credit card was used in payment.
“The hut was had its lock removed, presumably by the suspect, and the victim agreed to buy it without first checking with the Foreshore Office. This came to light when the victim attempted to register the hut in his name.”
The spokesperson added: “The scam could have claimed a second victim into parting with cash for a ‘ghost’ beach hut seemingly available to buy via eBay, at a low price. Luckily, the potential buyer thought to contact the council first to check if the sale was genuine, and that the ‘owner’ was all he or she claimed to be.
“Sadly, this was the second time in recent months that this has happened, and the scammers may well try again.”
Chris Cornell, cabinet member for economic development and inclusion and coastal towns at Canterbury City Council, said: “The golden rule is if something sounds too good to be true, it generally is.
“As soon as we learned of people selling beach huts in Tankerton they do not own, we informed the beach hut owners and advised them to contact Kent Police and Report Fraud. We also notified the beach hut associations, so they could spread the word to their members.”
He continued: “We would always advise beach hut owners to be vigilant for the potential for fraudulent activity such as this and to report any concerns they have to the police as swiftly as possible. Our Foreshore team is happy to provide advice on whether a hut sale is genuine if people contact us.
“While hut owners are permitted to sell privately and via whatever method they choose, our advice to prospective buyers is to only purchase huts through agents or the beach hut associations. Sadly, the main victim in scams of this type will always be the unsuspecting purchaser.”
Kent Police confirmed they received a report on 20 March regarding a beach hut in Whitstable that had been broken into and subsequently listed for sale without the owner’s consent.
A spokesperson for eBay said: “Ensuring eBay is a safe and secure marketplace for our buyers and sellers is a top priority.
“eBay maintains a zero-tolerance policy against fraud and in the rare instance that one of our users is a victim of a scam, we advise them to report it immediately to their local police force, Action Fraud and eBay.
“We have dedicated teams that work closely with law enforcement, and they can investigate reported sellers and provide evidence to police as requested.”
