PORT RICHEY, Fla. — A few months ago Mimi Bassant was in the market for a new place to rent.
“I found a couple of places where they show you the video on YouTube, and they give you a tour of how the place looks on the inside and the outside," Bassant said. "They even added a little music to go with it.”
She came across a listing in Port Richey, and the price point seemed reasonable.
“I filled out all their information and then I had to give them the application fee. The application fee was $89," she said. "Once I submitted that, they said that somebody was going to call me as soon as the application was done, within two to three days.”
When she didn't hear back for a while, she got suspicious.
“I said you know what? Something is telling me something is off," Bisant said. "So I told my son let's go let's go to this property address and let's see what's really going on.”
The Better Business Bureau says this is a common tactic.
Bryan Oglesby, director of public relations and outreach at the Better Business Bureau in West Florida, detailed their common routine.
“They're collecting money from their potential landlords, and then they're never to be heard from after the money is paid,” Oglesby said.
When Bassant went to check out the property, she realized there were people living there.
“There was three different cars, the lights were on, the curtains were in there, it was clear the people had no intention of moving,” she said.
Experts say this is nothing new.
“You can do a google reverse image search of that property, see if there are other listings of it," Oglesby said. "That could be a red flag."
“They're stealing images and listings from people that may have been selling their homes, or even for people that have pictures of their homes listed," he added.
Bassant eventually got her money back, after some back and forth with her credit card company, but not everyone is as fortunate.
"If you're paying these scammers with a gift card or wire transfer or a third party app like Zelle, that money is hard to recoup and find and trace,” Oglesby said.
Bassant says she learned her lesson and has some advice for anyone looking for a place to rent.
”I would say meet up with the person that you're getting this information from," she said. "Have them actually physically show you the location, ask how many applicants are applying, what's the credit score required, and make sure it's empty."
The BBB says another red flag to be on the lookout for is a cheap listing. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
You can find a list of scams in your area with the BBB's scam tracker tool.