Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office warns against rental listing scam

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Officials in Brunswick County are warning about a scam.

The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office says they’ve had reports of a rental list scam recently.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), scammers take over legitimate rental listings and make them their own. Scammers copy the pictures and descriptions of online rental listings, replace the agent’s contact information with their own, and post the phony ads on a new site.

If you call or email about the rental you’ll reach a scammer, who may take your money for an application fee, deposit, first month’s rent, or vacation rental charge. Then, the scammer disappears, and you’re left with no place to move in to. Many times this money is taken via mobile payment services such as Venmo, or Apple Pay.

Some scammers have even told victims the key to the rental house is in the mail and to use a screwdriver to get into the home, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

BCSO detectives are asking people to meet with the property owner or rental agent before sending money. They say a scammer will never agree to a meeting which is an indication the listing is fake.