Police are investigating a fraudulent home rental agreement that scammed a family from McKinney out of thousands of dollars, reported CBS.
Breanna Davila told CBS she wanted to move from her home because of mold issues.
“So, we found this listing, this house on Zillow,” Davila said, which she hoped to move into with her 9-month-old daughter. “We moved so quickly because we were so excited; this home just seemed like a perfect home for our family.”
The house was a two-story home only a few miles away from their previous dwelling. Davila set up a tour with the supposed owner of the building.
Communicating through phone calls, the man helped her open the vacant home’s front lock box.
“I got the code, I unlocked the lockbox, I got the key,” Davila said. Once inside, she said, “I looked at the home, I fell in love with the home, [and] I offered to pay upfront.”
That is when the man asked Davila to pay him via Zelle. She ultimately paid $4,000 and moved in but never met the house’s owner in person.
She then heard from the actual owners of the property, FirstKey Homes. Shocked and dismayed, Davila said, “They told me that they were the homeowners and that I was scammed.”
FirstKey Homes told CBS that whoever let Davila in the apartment was not an employee of theirs.
“We are cooperating with the criminal investigation by the police,” the statement read.
Cliff Freeman, a Dallas-Fort Worth real estate expert, told CBS that there is currently an increased risk of falling victim to a rental property scam due to the increased demand, especially when conducting business online.
Freeman warned potential renters to look out for a few things: paying before signing a lease, never meeting the property owner in person, and paying without seeing the property first.
He further warned against any seller who does not conduct a background or credit check on an applicant.
“If it’s not a realtor on the other end of the transaction, there’s always a possibility that it could be a scam,” Freeman said.
Police said they have a photo of the suspect and are currently investigating.
Seems they should look for how a scammer knew the code to the lockbox. Are a lot of realtors using the same code? I think those lockboxes are a really bad idea, especially in todays criminal society.