KENTWOOD, Mich. — Thomas Dellinger gets choked up as he thinks about the past few weeks.
“It’s nothing like what I planned,” said Dillinger. “Instead of having money sitting there in my bank account, I’m struggling day to day to make the bills.”
At the end of May, Dellinger left Cape Coral, Florida for Kentwood, but rather than live in a three bedroom, three bath home on the city’s northeast side, he now finds himself in an apartment complex.
“Emotionally… I was done,” said Dellinger.
Dellinger explains before his move he came across a house for rent on Craigslist. He messaged the landlord who encouraged him to apply. After a background check, he was approved.
Receipts provided to FOX 17 show he then paid the required security deposit and gave additional money to cover six months of rent. The payments were made through Cash App and Western Union. In total, it amounted to $9,848.
However, Dellinger never got the keys.
“Wednesday came [and] it's like… what's going on?” said Dellinger. “[The landlord was] like, ‘Well, my daughter is in the hospital, she has to have a pacemaker replaced, we didn't expect this, we're out of town.’”
Text messages show the landlord instead made excuses and requested more money. Dellinger says at that point, he knew he had likely been scammed.
“Not only is it taking a financial toll, but it's taken an emotional toll because you feel violated,” said Katie Grevious, marketing and community relations manager at the Better Business Bureau of Western Michigan.
Grevious says rental scams are common. She suggests prospective tenants do the following in order to avoid them:
- Watch out for deals that are too good: Scammers lure you in by promising low rents, extra amenities, and a great location. If the price seems much better than elsewhere, it may be a scam.
- Search online for similar properties: Do a quick search for the listing, scammer’s email address, or phone number. If you find the same ad listed in other cities, that’s a huge red flag.
- See the property in person: Don’t send money to someone you’ve never met for an apartment you haven’t seen. If you can’t visit an apartment or house yourself, ask someone you trust to go and confirm that it is what was advertised.
- Don’t pay a stranger with cash transfer apps: Many scammers now ask for payments through peer-to-peer apps instead of wired funds or prepaid debit/gift cards. Only use these apps with people you know. It's okay to pay a landlord you trust with Venmo, Zelle, or another P2P app, but don't use this payment method to secure an apartment or pay a deposit.
“It’s really hard to get your money back and unfortunately, the best advice is to try to avoid fighting yourself in those situations by doing those due diligences,” said Grevious.
Kent County property records show a couple bought the house used in the suspected scam eleven days before Dellinger signed his lease. Grevious suspects the landlord took photos from the listing.
FOX 17 spoke to one of the new owners who says he and his wife purchased the home to expand their family not hurt others.
“It’s really unfortunate,” said Scott Hongsyvilay-Thayer, the homeowner. “I know people who have been victims of scams before, so that sucks.”
Hongsyvilay-Thayer says they did not realize someone used their information like this either and hope whoever did thinks twice about the impact next time.
“You're gonna get got,” said Hongsyvilay-Thayer. “The internet's pretty traceable, even if you use a VPN and a burner phone, it's bound to catch up with you.”
