South Knoxville News

Blount County Sheriff James Lee Berrong is warning citizens about another scam that citizens should be on the lookout for involving real estate and rental deals. Though this isn’t a new scam, it is one that we wanted to warn you about after receiving information that one of our citizens recently fell victim to it. 

We received the following information: a citizen found a house for rent on Facebook Marketplace and confirmed it was legitimate because the house was listed for rent on Zillow and other real estate websites. The individual contacted the Facebook listing instead of the legitimate websites and ended up sending the man who listed it $1,000 by way of Bitcoin using a Bitcoin machine in Knoxville. The scammer even contacted the Zillow page and got the actual listing agent to give him an unaccompanied site view. The fraudulent Facebook Marketplace scammer sent his “prospective renter” to the house instead of him going, which made the prospective renter think it was even more legitimate. The individual who fell for this scam learned that the person they were speaking with on Facebook Marketplace was using a false name, and the listing was removed after the scammer received the individual’s $1,000 by way of Bitcoin.

According to publicly sourced information on several legitimate real estate and financial websites, individuals can protect themselves and their personal information by following these guidelines:

• Consult with a licensed professional. Work with licensed real estate agents and lenders that you trust. 

• Don’t deal with someone who will not meet you in person. A good landlord will want to meet with you personally or at least digitally, and they will want to meet with you personally if you make an offer to rent the house or apartment to make sure you will be a good renter. 

• Don’t send rent or a security deposit before signing a lease. 

• Keep your personal information secure. Never give your personal or financial information to someone you don’t trust. Don’t provide financial information through emails, website links, or by way of Bitcoin machines. 

• If the price seems too good to be true, it likely is. A property that is priced well below the going market rate in your area should be a red flag. 

• If the listing is full of typos, poor grammar, or excessive punctuation, beware. It was likely created by a scammer. 

We do not want to see anyone taken advantage of! Thoroughly vet the rental listing to make sure it is legitimate, meet the landlord in person, and make sure the landlord is there when you look at the property. 

If you think you’ve been scammed, report it to the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the transaction took place. You should also contact the listing website where you found the property, and report it to the Federal Trade Commission.

Please share this information with your family and friends who may not have access to social media.

Original source can be found here