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Rental scammers re-posting listings for cheaper prices, stealing thousands

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Published  September 12, 2024 10:52pm EDT
Tampa Bay
FOX 13 News

Warning about rental scams

Evyn Moon reports

TAMPA, Fla. - As families continue to struggle to make ends meet and find affordable places to live, crooks are using that to their advantage by making a rental listing that's too good to be true.

Scammers will rip off real home and apartment listings online and re-post them, but for much cheaper. One landlord told FOX 13 he’s seen people lose thousands of dollars. 

Landlord Matthew Fonk said as demand increases for rentals in the Tampa Bay area, more scammers are preying on people who need a quick – and affordable – move in. These criminals take real online ads and re-post them with cheaper prices, creating fake applications and ultimately asking for a check. 

READ: Nearly a third of homeowners say they are ‘house poor’ in new survey

"Being that it's just too good to be true, people are just jumping at it to give them money, and they'll do that same thing, 'Send the money here, you're approved and go to the house. And when you get there, call us. We'll give you the lockbox code.' Well, they show up at the house, there's no lock box," explained Fonk.

He said it’s happened to many of his listings, and there’s not much owners can do. 

"We talked to a lady who said ‘Yeah, you approved me yesterday I'm moving in tomorrow,' and we were floored. She had told us that she had given this guy $800 times three... for first, last and security. And that was all the money this woman had and a couple of kids. I mean, she had nothing, and it's gone."

MORE: Bay Area landlords hope to create better tenant relationships as demand skyrockets

As more homes become available this fall, he said there are things renters should look for. 

"Tenants can avoid this by being a little bit more cautious. You can verify a licensed Florida real estate broker or a sales agent at myfloridalicense.com," Fonk said. "You can also ask the landlord if they own the property ... the other way is to verify the ads. Do the ads make sense? Is it at a rent that makes sense for the market area or is it below market rents, and it's just too good to be true?"

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