Scammers are pretending to own houses and are renting them out to victims in order to steal rent money, according to FirstKey Homes.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An elaborate scam in Charlotte is swindling families out of money and their homes, according to police and a large rental company.
FirstKey Homes owns hundreds of houses across the Charlotte area and rents them out to residents. The company told WCNC Charlotte scammers are pretending to own some of its properties and are renting them out to victims to collect rent money.
India Green said she is a victim of this scam, after moving to Charlotte from Virginia with her two sons. She moved into a house at the beginning of August, only to find out she doesn’t have permission to be there.
“I came down here to build a better life for my family, not to be taken advantage of,” Green said. “I don’t deserve that.”
Green found the rental listing for the house online. After calling who she thought was the property owner, the alleged owner gave her a code to the lock box on the front door so she could tour the house on her own.
“He sounds like a good person, this is a nice home, so I said, ‘Hey let’s go with it,'” Green explained.
