Greg's Corner

Knock on the door saves family from rental scam

By Greg Collier

We would say that it seems to be the week for rental scams, but unfortunately, they’re an everyday threat to prospective renters. It’s not just renters, either. Homeowners and current tenants are often left having to tell victims of rental scams that the property is not for rent. Meanwhile, the victims are left desperately scrambling to find a place to live after having lost thousands of dollars to scammers.

The rental scam can take many forms, but at its simplest, scammers copy real estate listings then post a copy somewhere online that the home is for rent. Except, the scammers list themselves as the landlord and collect security or rental deposits before ghosting their victims.

A couple from Orange County, California, almost feel victim to a rental scam, but decided to investigate when something didn’t feel right. The home they found was listed for rent on Facebook Marketplace. The supposed landlord only communicated by text. They were also asked to pay a $2000 deposit through personal payment app Zelle and were pressured to pay quickly since others were interested in the rental. The couple was also told not to go to the property because it was currently occupied, although the tenants would be out by the end of the week.

The home was occupied alright, but not by renters, the family that was living there had bought the home, and it was not for rent. The couple interested in the home decided to go to the home anyway, sensing something was fishy. The couple knocked on the door and spoke with the family living there, who told them the home was not for rent. It turned out the scammers had copied the Zillow listing that the family saw when they bought the home.

The couple was lucky enough to notice the red flags before losing any money. Unfortunately, not all families are this lucky and end up losing what little money they might have. If a landlord only communicates by text, it could mean they’re not in the area and are just interested in taking your money. If they ask for payment through personal payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, or Cash App, that’s another good indicator of a potential scam as scammers can block victims on these apps once they receive payment. And if a landlord tells you not to approach the property, there’s a good chance they’re trying to hide something from you.

As always, due diligence should be done before putting money down on a rental property. A quick Google search of the address can reveal duplicate listings. If the listing you’re looking at has a lower rent price, that’s more than likely the scam listing. If a listing says the house is for sale or off the market, but your listing says it’s for rent, your listing is probably the scam listing.