A Texas Woman Signs a 'Fake Lease' and Loses $2K in a Fort Worth Scam

A Texas woman who wanted a larger home in Fort Worth found a "great deal" on a rental property. She speaks to a man online who gave her a code to a smart lock, allowing her inside the home for the self-tour. She signs a lease and pays him. As she is trying to move in, she finds out that this was someone else's home and she lost over $2K in a growing scam.

Mendi CrusonPhoto byCBS 11 News

Texas Woman Loses Over $2K in Rental Scam

CBS 11 News reported on Thursday that Mendi Cruson was looking for a larger home with a big backyard for her family, and she thought she found the perfect home in Forth Worth online "on websites like Realtor.com and Zillow."

That's how she met a man online named "Thomas Woodcock" who claimed to be the owner of the home and explained why he couldn't meet her in person.

He told her the following:

"I have several properties that I lease out with me and my partner, but I live out of state." -Thomas Woodcock, man claiming to be homeowner

Thomas Woodcock asked her to register her personal information on the website, 'InvitationHomes.com,' which gave her an access code to the smart lock which allowed Cruson to go inside and do a self-guided tour of the home.

She loved what she saw, so she wanted to move forward.

CBS 11 News reported that Cruson "paid more than $2,000 for the security deposit and first month's rent" and went ahead with moving in, after receiving documentation.

She Noticed Red Flags on Moving Day

On the moving day, she thought it was strange that she had to pay a locksmith to change the smart lock code on the house just to get into the house.

The next red flag was when a man driving a gray car showed up at her front door.

He asked her, "Why are you moving into my home?"

She replied, 'Sir, I have a lease, I can show you all the documentation, I'm renting this house."

The man informed her, "Well I'm moving in this weekend, you just watch and see."

Not long after this encounter, two Invitation Homes employees show up at the house and tell Cruson she was scammed.

The man she paid for the security deposit and first month's rent was a scammer and not the owner of the home.

The U.S. Sun recommends looking for discrepancies when home shopping, such as varying prices in rent on different websites. It might indicate that one of these is not the real listing.

In the case of Mendi Cruson, she found a price online that was listed much cheaper than InvitationHomes.com was leasing the home for. They invited Mendi to re-apply for a lease, which confirmed that the actual lease price was higher than what she paid in the scam. Her family was forced to move out weeks later.

CBS 11 News reported that this type of rental scam has been targeting large property management firms in North Texas, such as FirstKey, StreetLane Homes, and Progress Residential.

Thoughts

Now it is time for the reader to share your thoughts on this story.

• Did you know that scammers were listing homes and properties that didn't belong to them?
• What would you do if you came across a scam posting online?

Please like and share this article so others can be informed about the latest scams online.

Sources

Allen, Ginger. "I-Team finds rental scams targeting vacant homes in DFW." CBS 11 News. 14 March 2024.

Loreto, M.A. "I lost more than $2,000 the day I moved into my new home – the fact I had to pay a locksmith to even get in was a sign." The U.S. Sun. 15 March 2024.

Mendi Cruson on Facebook.

The Original Article can be read here:

"Texas Woman Loses $2K After Signing a Fake Lease in Fort Worth Scam Targeting Large Property Firms"

Colorado Woman Sees Error on Computer Telling Her the Computer was Hacked. She Calls Number and Loses $37K

A woman from Westminster is alerted by warning messages on her computer that "her IP address has been hacked." It tells her to call a number and she is greeted by a person claiming to be from "Microsoft headquarters," who conspires to steal $37K from her in an "imposter scam."

photo credit: Microsoft logo (stock photo)Photo byMike Mozart; CC BY 2.0 DEED

According to the FTC data on the Consumer Sentinel Network, Americans lost more than $2.7 billion in "imposter scams" in 2023. These are scams where an unsuspecting person is duped by a scammer posing as an official or representative of a company.

A Colorado woman shared her recent experience with a scammer to try and warn others before it's too late.

Westminster Colorado Woman Believes 'Imposter Scammer'

KUSA 9News reported on Thursday that Diana Peltier from Westminster, Colorado received a troubling message on her computer, warning her that her "IP address had been hacked." The warning alert provided a phone number for her to call and looked very similar to the image on the screen below.

photo credit: Windows messagePhoto byKUSA 9News

She trusted the information on the screen and called the phone number where she was greeted by a man claiming to be from Microsoft headquarters, who sounded "calm and assuring," who told her "they were going to take care of her. They are going to be certain that I'm going to be OK."

The scammer told her to click on a link, which downloaded remote software onto her computer, which allowed him to take "complete control" over her computer.

That's when he told Peltier that he could "see her accounts were being hacked." He then offered to connect her to her bank's fraud department.

Peltier Was Transferred to 'Bank Fraud Department'

Peltier was transferred to a woman named "Allison with US Bank" who was soft-spoken and calming her down, telling her to "breathe," while continuing to emphasize her accounts were hacked.

Peltier was then instructed to go to her bank and withdraw her money from her "hacked" bank account and to deposit it into a "safe place" and the safest nearby place to deposit her money was the nearest Bitcoin ATM at a liquor store.

That's where Peltier deposited the $37,000 she removed from her bank account, just as she had been coached to do by scammers.

photo credit: Diana PeltierPhoto byKUSA 9News

She said:

"Within four hours, it was all over with. It was all gone." -Diane Peltier, Colorado scam victim

In hindsight she regrets it.

She said:

"I should have hung up with everybody. I should have unplugged the computer. I wasn't thinking right. I wasn't thinking right. I wasn't thinking clearly." -Diane Peltier, Colorado scam victim

Now, it is unlikely Peltier will ever see her money lost in this scam.

Always remember: Banks and officials will never ask for payment in gift cards or cryptocurrency.

Help protect friends and family by liking and sharing this article with others so they can be informed about this type of scam.

Sources

Federal Trade Commission: Consumer Sentinel Network.

Iacurci, Greg. "How to avoid the top scam of 2023: The internet has ‘really supercharged’ it, expert says." CNBC. 15 February 2024.

Staegar, Steve and Anna Hewson. "Colorado woman loses $37,000 in phantom hacker scam." KUSA 9News. 7 March 2024.