Scam victims are advising more due diligence after a young couple lost money in a Billings housing rental scam.
It happened on Monday, on what was assumed to be move-in day at Josephine Crossing.
Watch rental scam story here:
The nice cottages there can be challenging enough to rent, but some advertised prices may be too good to be true.
June Rovero's home in Josephine Crossing is as nice as a picture.
“I bought the house two months ago,” she said, adding, “I'm still unpacking."
The problem is she's not the only one who thinks that a scammer had her home listed as a rental.
“People were coming to her house, claiming that it was for rent,” said Carol Elliott, president of the Josephine Crossing Homeowners Cottage Association.
Elliott says that the $800 a month advertised is much lower than the $1,200 to $1,300 rental price for similar homes.
And the young couple pulled up ready to move into what they thought was a rental.
“I went over to the kids, and I told them, unfortunately it was a scam,” Elliott said. “And they were so young and I know that they were just starting out. They didn't have the money to do this. They lost their deposit because they were scammed. It was heartbreaking.”
Heartbreaking and confusing. Neither knew what was happening.
“I just told him I think you've been scammed, hon,” said Rovero. “You know, it's terrible. But my house isn't for rent or for sale."
Rovero's real estate agent said the rental was listed on Zillow.
She asked Zillow to correct the post and warns even Realtors need to watch out for scammers.
“Do your due dilligence when working in real estate,” said Marissa Amen, an agent with Berkshire Hathaway Floberg Real Estate. “Trust a local qualified person like a property manager or real estate agent. Don’t send anything.”
But the young couple already paid a deposit.
“The scary thing is with AI, it's getting real crazy,” said Mike Toth, Elite Investigations owner and lead investigator. “They're scamming everything, but these rental scams are really taking off. ”
Toth says he sees the same kind of scam with vehicles.
He's representing clients who thought they were buying vehicles from a dealer in Billings, only to arrive and find nothing.
“They prey on urgency,” Toth said about scammers. “Anything like wire money, cryptocurrency, gift cards, that's a huge one. Those are red flags. ”
“A lot of people are thinking about renting houses,” said Elliott. “Don't, not without seeing it.”
