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:
- Only deal with Legitimate Property Management like Zillow or Realtor or through a trustworthy person (someone you know!)
- If it's too good to be true, it probably is!
- 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.
