Victim Location 91801
Type of a scam Rental
Scammer listed a house for rent in the Del Rey neighborhood on the site Padmapper.com. Rent was $2000 for a 2bd/1ba house – low for the area. I messaged them on May 20, 2020 regarding the listing. He emailed me back stating that he moved out of state due to a work transfer and wanted to find the right person to take care of his home. That he wasn’t renting for the money. We chatted on the phone once and oddly he didn’t have any questions for me for someone who wanted to find the right person. His rental application was literally typed in the email with underscores as the line for your answers. There was no credit check. I couldn’t go see the house because supposedly the current tenant didn’t want to be disturbed. Subsequent questions regarding getting a tour of the home was vague non-answers. He told me I got the house, but wanted me to send the security deposit before he’d mail me the keys and the lease agreement. That is when I stopped all communication.
I later on searched his phone number and one of the results included a report that that number was used in a house rental scam in another state. I also looked up the house that was listed for rent and according to records, it was sold somewhat recently. I also found another listing for a house in South Bay for the same rent and under the same name the scammer used that was also sold around the same time. Half the photos did have the MLS logo on both listings – so I’m guessing he stole the images.