Scammers try to rent man his own house

A St Elizabeth landlord was stunned to discover that scammers had published photos of his property online and were fishing for unsuspecting victims who were in search of rental properties.

The property owner had hired a real estate agent to find a tenant at $80,000 a month. After posting the property online, an interested party saw a post in which the same apartment was being rented for $10,000 cheaper.

Shocked at the turn at events, the agent contacted the landlord to enquire what was taking place. It was then that the shocking discovery was made.

“What happened is that they saw the picture of the same property at a lower price, so they reached out to ask if I lowered the price and I said no, so she sent me the photo she had seen,” the man explained.

The landlord soon realised he was dealing with more than a cheeky attempt to undercut his legitimate listing.

The scammers had apparently lifted the real advertisement and were using it to lure potential renters, with the cheaper price making the fake offer even more tempting.

The property owner decided to try and find out who was behind the scam. He took up his phone and called the number on the listing. And the scammer was ready to do business.

“I followed up and spoke on the phone to the person renting,” he told THE WEEKEND STAR.

The bogus renters demanded a deposit before prospective tenants could even see the property. And the landlord decided to play along.

A screenshot of the message exchange seen by this newspaper showed how quickly the alleged scam unfolded.

In a one-minute exchange, the scammers sent banking information linked to a Spanish Town branch, followed by the message: “That’s the account information and we can meet within 1-2 hours.”

The property owner responded: “OK, once I make the deposit I will let you know, For clarity it is 30 per cent of the $70,000 correct?”

The scammers replied: “yes.”

But the St Elizabeth property owner said the request for an upfront payment before viewing the property was the red flag that exposed the alleged scam.

“How we realised it is a scam is that they are requesting for us to make a deposit before viewing the property, so once you make the deposit you wouldn’t hear from that person or number,” he told THE WEEKEND STAR.

When he questioned the reason for the payment, the man on the phone told him “it was to secure the property, they said once that deposit is made they will make an arrangement to view the property.”

The property owner admitted that he deliberately engaged the alleged scammers to see how far their ploy would go.

His objective, he said, was “just to find out the banking information and other requirements and I got it from them.”

Armed with the name of the account holder and the bank branch, he reported the matter to the police.

But even with the alleged scammers’ banking information in hand, the owner said he remains concerned about how many unsuspecting people may have already fallen victim.