Recently I heard about a scam that takes advantage of people in an especially cruel way. There are people who are advertising homes for lease when the people who are creating the ads do NOT own the property, nor do they have the authority to lease it out to someone else.
For example, someone may copy the photos from a house that is for sale and use those photos to create an advertisement saying that the home is for lease at a very reasonable price. When people inquire about it, they are asked to complete an application that looks very official. Then, they are sent a copy of a "lease" and asked to return it, along with a deposit of a Cashier's Check, a wire transfer or something similar. In some cases they have even asked for the first month's rent in advance, in addition to a large deposit.
However, when it comes time to move in, the people who are currently residing in the home have NO IDEA THAT SOMEONE ELSE BELIEVES THEY HAVE LEASED IT !!!
It can happen anywhere, and it can happen to intelligent, well-educated people. Here is a true story that took place just a few days ago in Irvine, California ... a city that, according to the FBI, has one of the lowest crime rates for any city in the United States:
http://www.bubblews.com/news/2458879-housing-scam
I interviewed the author of that article for more details. She told me that her neighbor not only lost his deposit, but he almost lost his current apartment, since he had given notice to the apartment complex that he was moving. It was just by luck that he discovered that he had been scammed.
Some people have lost thousands of dollars to this scam ... which can be a heart-breaking loss to someone who has just barely accumulated enough money to pay the first months' rent and a deposit on a home they want to lease.
Nearly everyone knows someone who is leasing their residence, so it is important that we get the word out to as many people as possible about this horrible scam. I would not want this to happen to a single person that I know!
(Photo credit: www.morguefile.com)
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