Homeowners and potential renter(s) BEWARE:
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On 11/23/10, a local Memphis news station aired a news story about a citizen who found an online listing about renting a property. She viewed the property and pictures on a well known real estate website and immediately fell in love with the house and began to see herself and her daughter living there. When she called the number listed in the ad, all she got was a recording pointing her to an email address. She used the email address for correspondence with people that she thought were the property’s owners. Turns out that it was a scam and they got an amount of money out of the victim for what she thought would be the first month’s rent and a security deposit, via money order. They “owners” told her that they had just been relocated overseas for work and as a result, would not be able to meet her face to face (RED FLAG). Also, upon their receipt of the deposit and first month’s rent, she never received keys to the property and was asked to send more money (RED FLAG). At this point, she knew she had been taken for a ride.
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Apparently, these con artists look up the names of property owners in public records. They then assume the “identity” of the rightful owners, through electronic correspondence by signing the emails with the rightful owners names (again, this information is all a matter of public record). They use pictures of the property that were posted online when it was for SALE or was legally listed for rent. By doing that, they are able to pass the property off as vacant and ready for move in.
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As a general rule, never send money to someone that you have never met face to face. Don’t buy or rent a property that you have not been able to gain access to in order to view in person. A little caution on the front end can save a lot of money on the back end.
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For homeowners it would be wise to periodically perform online searches for your property address. See what kind of results you get. If you see anything that raises a red flag, contact authorities and inform them of the situation. Again, a little caution on the front end can save a lot of anguish on the back end.
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NOTE: To view the actual news piece that was aired, click the link below:
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http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-new-wrinkle-in-rental-scam-story,0,7219764.story
