Rent to Own Scam

I have several rental properties and it seems every time I put a house on MLS to Lease a scammer will take the information and try to lease my house for half the market rate. My only saving grace here is I have a Realtor sign in the front lawn and the victim calls my Realtor asking about the half price deal. I had started texting one of the scammers and they wanted $1,500 to move in. The scammers were using the name of the previous owner in the scam. The tax records are public and are slow to be updated. The photo the scammers sent did not look anything like the people I closed with at the title company.The scammers had me go to B of A to deposit the money into their account. Once they gave me the Person's name, routing number, and account number I had the branch manager call corporate security at B of A. I traced the account to VA and looked up the B of A customer. He has a rap sheet a mile long. As soon as I got the scammers banking information I stopped texting them at this point they are fuming. I want to get the information out so we can stop these Rent to own scams in our area. Even the largest Property Management company in our city is being plagued with the same problem.

Hello clark77494 and welcome to Scamwarners,
Rental scam are a worldwide problem, just take a look at the rental scams section of this site to see some of the tactics these rental scammers use.
Please post the telephone number and email address used in this scam. Also post the email or complete text message that asked for the payment to sent to a bank account including the bank account number.
This information will help others avoid losing money to this scam.

..... He has a rap sheet a mile long. As soon as I got the scammers banking information I stopped texting them at this point they are fuming. I want to get the information out so we can stop these Rent to own scams in our area. Even the largest Property Management company in our city is being plagued with the same problem.

hi and welcome clark77494. You have done a great thing by getting this much information on your own. I'd highly recommend now you go to the IC3 ( if this/these crime(s) are internet related) https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx , your local police, and BoA fraud unit. Let the professionals handle their jobs.

The best thing you can do is to put words out like their phone #'s bank acct, email address(es), and fake names they are using. That way people searching for that info with internet search engines can be forewarned that they are dealing with criminals.

When I put the information up won't the scammers just get a new phone number and new Email address? On the recent scam the scammers used the previous owners name since the property tax database is public and is slow to get updated. I checked the database this morning and it's still showing the old owner. Also the scammer got an Email address in the old owners name. The phone number is a google voice number. I don't understand why the scammer would give me the B of A account name and numbers. Is the dollar amount so low that they can't be arrested? I originally offered the scammers $20,000 and they didn't seem interested they only wanted $1,500 down and $800 a month.

The scammer may get a new email address and telephone number for his next scam. Posting the information may also save another victim from losing money to this criminal. Posting the script that he used will also be useful because the scripts are often recycled many times.

Also post the full email asking for the payment to be sent to the bank, including the full account information. This will also expose him to the whole world and serve as a warning to others. The account information will be passed on to the authorities.

When I put the information up won't the scammers just get a new phone number and new Email address?

chances are good no they won't. If you fish then do you change bait when the fish are nibbling on what you are using? Of course not, is my guess. These guys are fishing for victims, not food. But they treat victims the same way. Even if they do change some of the info, it won't all change as you stated.... an email address in the previous owner's name.....

On the recent scam the scammers used the previous owners name since the property tax database is public and is slow to get updated. I checked the database this morning and it's still showing the old owner. Also the scammer got an Email address in the old owners name.

names are meaningless, unless the account name at the bank was also the same name. If that is the case, then the real professionals in law enforcement need to be aware of it. Who is to say it is not the former owners doing the scam?? Only law enforcement can answer the questions definitively.

how is it possible to get an email address in the former owners' name?? I did not realize email addresses were assigned according to name, would you please explain that one?

The phone number is a google voice number. I don't understand why the scammer would give me the B of A account name and numbers. Is the dollar amount so low that they can't be arrested?

if it is a google voice # then there is also a gmail account to go along with it. Whether or not it is the address they were using with you we have no idea, but posting some information about them is better than posting no information ( and so far, zero concrete information is what you have posted). Is there a reason you are not posting the information we are asking for? it will help potential victims of this scammer, provided they use internet search engines prior to doing transactions.

I originally offered the scammers $20,000 and they didn't seem interested they only wanted $1,500 down and $800 a month.

This boils down to a lot of factors. I won't speak to all of them but the fact is different states have different degrees of theft and classes of violations. The fact is in some states, stealing a $2 loaf of bread gets you the same charge in court as a $900 piece of jewelry.

All of your questions / statements are why you need to go to law enforcement, we are not law enforcement, we are just a group of people who hate to see people getting scammed.

If you would please post the info Mike and I have been asking for, you will save at least one, probably a lot more people from being scammed.

"DONALD A FRANCIS" [email protected] The scammer is attempting to impersonate a real person of the same or similar name.
This scam is more sophisticated than most because they took the time to look up the public records for the property and then created an email address to match.

475-212-5606 VoIP number resolves to Naugatuck, CT. This means the scammer can be located anywhere in the world that has high speed internet access.

The money mule account where the scammer wants the money sent

Bank of America
Name .... Mudasiru Adeboye
Account Number ..... 394003614219
Routing number ....011500010
Account noted MW

The rental scammers often search the real estate listings and then post a rental ad on Craigslist or other free listing service with a rental rate well below the current market value. They hope to steal money from you before you discover the scam.

Firstly i will want you to call the county accessory and ask them to give you the name of the person that own the house, Just for you to be rest assure that am the owner of the house before we move ahead. After you go by the house and take a look at it then you can get back to me and let me know if is ok by you. If i find out that the house is ok by you i will email the lease contract to you with my signature and i will want you to sign it and send it back to me before making any payment.

The house is still available. I decided to Rent the property because I and my Family will be to spending more time here in GA, about 3 years due to my Job. I must confess that I am very very new in this landlord business.. However, My name is Donald Francis, I own the house located at 5331 Friar Tuck Dr Katy TX 77493, The initial plan was to sell out the House which I tried, but sometimes the agents inflates the prize and it takes longer to sell. because of this reason and more we need a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money, but want it to be clean and for you to take it as if it were yours. Pet are allowed as long as they are not destructive. The rent is $800 monthly and security deposit of $1000 for just rent, for rent to own the rent is $800 and down payment of $1500
perty because I and my Family will be to spending more time here in GA, about 3 years due to my Job. I must confess that I am very very new in this landlord business.. However, My name is Donald Francis, I own the house located at 5331 Friar Tuck Dr Katy TX 77493, The initial plan was to sell out the House which I tried, but sometimes the agents inflates the prize and it takes longer to sell. because of this reason and more we need a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money, but want it to be clean and for you to take it as if it were yours. Pet are allowed as long as they are not destructive. The rent is $800 monthly and security deposit of $1000 for just rent, for rent to own the rent is $800 and down payment of $1500
Donald

Just to let you know before we move any further. The initial plan was to sell out the House which I tried, but sometimes the agents Inflates the prize and it takes longer to sell because of this reason and more we need a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money but want it to be clean and for you to take it as if it were yours. Pet are allowed as long as they are not destructive. I need to understand that there are many fake people on Craigslist, last time I leased my house and sent the Keys first but the tenant never send my payment until I called the police to get him out, once bitten twice shy. I will not send my house keys to anyone until I get a Part payment first. If you don,t feel comfortable with this idea please don,t bother to contact me. I understand that most people might be nervous because they don't know me but we can talk over the phone, and also send you a contract agreement before any payment is made so that the Applicant can know It is all legit. I took all my time to send this to you because I don't want a tenant that will waste my time. If you don't feel comfortable with my decision don't Contact me pls. Get back to me as soon as you go look at the house. You will not be able to go inside of the house as I have the key with me here in GA. I will Gladly appreciate if you go by the house and Peek through the window to have a better View of the inside of the House.
Donald