If you’re moving someplace and need temporary housing or thinking about renting a home or an apartment where you are, proceed with caution. Rental scams are sweeping the U.S.
The number of rental scams has grown more than 60% in the last year, with victims reporting losses of more than $350 million.
This is not your basic confidence scam either. These bad actors realize that people looking to rent want to move fast, so they surgically design their scams to suck in as many potential victims as they can.
In one recent case, WLS-TV reported that a woman’s home in Aurora Ill. was listed for rent without her knowledge or permission, and led to a throng of “renters” showing up on her front stoop trying to get inside. She said some of those had already paid thousands of dollars to rent her home.
Another couple in Austin Texas was so thrilled that they found the perfect place – one that came with a hard-to-find doggy door for their pooch – they wasted no time in sending the deposit and first month’s rent. Unfortunately, the scammers wasted no time in taking that $5,200 check and high-tailing it out of town.
Unfortunately for Zillow, scammers are using the real estate platform to list fake rental properties. Fortunately, however, Zillow has been very proactive in trying to take down fake listings and warn consumers about what telltale signs they should be looking for.
Ask these five questions before renting any place
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