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Rental Fraud Robs Family Of Home, Money
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Cohaon family moved in furniture, hung drapes and paid the deposit on their new rental home. But on Wednesday, seven family members found out they will have to move. Why? Because the Cohaons paid that deposit to a fake landlord they found via a listing on Craigslist.com.
The Cohaons and the actual property owner said they were scammed by someone who posted an ad on the popular Web site and claimed to own the rental home.
The scammer then had Cohaon sign a fake contract, Kionne Cohaon said.
She called the incident "very upsetting."
"You want to get the person and find out who they are and just beat them up real bad," Cohaon added with a frustrated laugh.
The actual owner of the property, Chris Airola of Property Management, said he is seeing an increase in rental fraud. He added that tenants need to be careful.
KCRA 3 tried to track down the fake landlord but had no luck.
Cohaon said her family, meanwhile, is out hundreds of dollars because of the scam.
"Somebody else is out there probably enjoying a free trip on our money," Cohaon said.
To avoid getting scammed, a tenant should scrutinize a potential landlord just as much as a landlord scrutinizes a potential tenant, Airola said.
Experts offer these tips to avoid becoming the victim of a rental scam:
- Go to the rental company's office.
- Check to see if they have a license.
- Make sure the landlord's name is on the lease agreement.
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