Rent Scam Claims Another Victim As Tenant Loses $3K To Phony Landlord

In Thousand Oaks, California, the Ventura County Star reports:

• Christina squirreled away what little money she had for months to be able to move from the valley to Thousand Oaks and reconnect with her only son. Last week, she paid $3,000 cash for a deposit, signed a lease and got the keys to a quaint, three-bedroom house. "This was our chance at a new, better life," she said. But her dream was quickly smashed when sheriff's deputies showed up Sunday and relayed crushing news: The woman she'd paid didn't own the house. Christina had been duped by a scam artist. [...] Strapped for cash, Christina, who is disabled and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and her husband are now staying at a Thousand Oaks hotel. "Now I am homeless and trying to figure out what to do," said Christina, who asked that her last name not be printed because her son attends a local middle school and she feared he would be teased for their situation.

For more, see Renter in T.O. is victim of fraud (Real estate scams rising in county).

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