Unwitting Renter Falls For Rental Ripoff; Pays Scammer $1600+ To Move Into Vacant, Bank-Owned Foreclosed Home Advertised On Craigslist

In Orlando, Florida, WESH-TV Channel 2 reports:

• It looked like a good deal for a rental, but a single mom got taken by a rental scheme. The woman, who does not want to be identified, said she went on Craigslist looking for a home to rent and thought she found a great deal on a Lazy Hill Drive home in Orlando for $850 per month.



• The mother of four paid more than $1,600 to a woman who called herself Sherri Copeland. She said Copeland gave her a receipt and what she thought was a lease. Days later, she got a rude awakening.



• The home is not owned by Copeland or a rental company. The home is in foreclosure and owned by a bank. Deputies believe the scam artists broke the window, changed the locks and claimed it as their own. Now the victim is not only out of the money, but she has to move out.



• Carlos Morales with the Orange County Consumer Fraud Unit said rental scams have risen with foreclosures.

For more, see Crooks Claim Foreclosure As Rental, Swindle Mom (Woman Out Of Money, Must Move).