FB Scam on Rental Properties

 

BE CAREFUL of SCAMMERS on Facebook!!!!

I was helping one of the teachers with a rental property. We were transacting at around 11:58 PM Mountain time - how weird was that?!!

But I was excited. 

Imagine... 

The rental property was only $800 (when the rest of the area is charging $1200 to $1800), 2 beds with one bath with washer, dryer, refrigerator, oven, microwave. The house is readily available when the teacher arrives from the Philippines. Utilities and internet are all-inclusive! And he pays $800 two weeks after! Plus, the house, weirdly, was only a 4-minute drive to the school - about 19 minutes walk! What a catch, right?!

And the photo on the profile seemed nice - young white Americans with a little child.

I paid $50 for the application fee.

And right after I paid, he was already asking for the $500 deposit even though he said the teacher still needed approval! So I asked, "He's approved already? The application form says he will get a refund $50 once approved. Should I just pay you $450?" He readily said YES! 

Thank God for silent whispers to watch out!

I suddenly had the gutsy feeling that something was off and the urge to check - Google and Facebook for the name, phone, address...

The property was off-market.

The photos used was from the legit property management site/s.

The person has two different FB accounts one - one I was communicating with, and the other one a photo of another American couple yet using the same phone number.

The Zelle number and name given were different from the two FB accounts' name! 

Via Messenger, I asked if I could call. I thought I was talking to a female. I only found out he was a guy because he instructed me to text only since his wife was sleeping. OK. I still called the number. :)

And on the other line wasn't an English-speaking with an American accent voice! I had to ask him to repeat what he was saying several times!!!

Hay naku!

SCAMMER!

Lessons Learned:

1. Only deal with Legitimate Property Management like Zillow or Realtor or through a trustworthy person (someone you know!)
2. If it's too good to be true, it probably is!
3. No searching for houses for rent on Facebook ever AGAIN!!!

I sent him a message again, "Sorry, we changed our minds. Will you please Zelle back the application fee $50 we sent you?"

To which he replied, thumbs up! 

HAHA! 

Good luck to us! Goodbye $50!

COMPLETE DETAILS:

A certain Williams Morgan with email address: williamsmorgan0410@gmail.com used this Betania Rosa account. Phone number: 205 370 9873.

I should have been more diligent with my research but I was excited! A no-no!!

After the scammy feeling, I browsed Facebook again and found out he is using two different accounts but the same phone number.

Sadly, no money was returned or refunded.

A scammer - CONFIRMED!

P.S. 

I did more digging and found out that the PROFILE PIC is an AMERICAN FAMILY but all his friends are either from Dominican Republic or Colombia. FAKE ACCOUNT for sure!!! 

Yes, I reported to FB already.