Rental scams explode in tight housing market

With homes and apartments truthful pugnacious to find this year, galore renters are hopeless to find anything.

That's however 1 pistillate ended falling unfortunate to a rental scam.

Mariah Dates had nary luck uncovering a rental location until a cute two-bedroom location popped up connected Facebook Marketplace for conscionable $700 a month.

"I emailed the rental agent, and she emailed maine backmost with interior pictures of the location and everything," Dates said.

Thrilled, Dates drove by the location to marque definite her large find was real.

"It's a existent house," she said. "You tin spell spot it."

But she couldn't spell inside. The landlord claimed she was presently retired of state.

So Dates instantly filled retired an application, past sent a deposit and 2 months' rent (which the landlord required ) via the Zelle app.

She ne'er heard back.

"I ended up sending the wealth for the deposit and the rent but ne'er got the keys," she said.

No keys showed up via FedEx, arsenic it had been promised, and Dates past recovered herself ghosted, with nary substance effect from the landlord ever again.

Another unfortunate of the rental scam

It turns retired the listing was fake, and Dates was the latest unfortunate of the location rental scam.

The location and the photos were existent but were stolen from a caller "for sale" listing of the home, disposable for anyone to spot connected Zillow oregon Realtor.com.

It was ne'er for rent, and the existent selling cause did not cognize astir immoderate rental connection connected it.

The alleged "rental agent" turned retired to beryllium a hacked Facebook page, wherever idiosyncratic utilized an guiltless person's illustration to station the location connected Facebook Marketplace.

In total, Dates was retired a deposit, positive 2 afloat months' rent.

"It each comes retired to $2,145 that I lost," she said.

We've sent her accusation to her bank, successful the accidental they tin help. In astir cases, they can't, however, due to the fact that the wealth was sent via currency and is untraceable (in this case, to a burner compartment telephone number).

The rental scam is becoming truthful communal this twelvemonth due to the fact that of the reddish blistery lodging market.

With precocious location prices, truthful galore radical are hopeless to rent homes, making them casual prey for scammers.

Warning signs of a scam

So don't fto this hap to you.

The FTC says to beryllium suspicious of rental listings if:

• The landlord wants a deposit earlier you person met.

• The landlord is retired of municipality and cannot conscionable you personally.

• You can't spell wrong the location oregon apartment.

• They inquire for a deposit via Venmo, Zelle, Google Play, iTunes, oregon different acquisition cards.

"I'm a astute girl, but this 1 truly got me," Dates said.

Finally, successful this choky lodging market, beryllium suspicious of immoderate rental that sounds excessively cheap, truthful you don't discarded your money.
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