MIDLAND, Texas — A new scam has hit the internet and has been hitting those in the Permian Basin in the wallet.
This new scam revolved around people who are looking to rent a home or room through the internet.
Lance Welch, the president of the Permian Basin Board of Realtors (PBBR), said it was first brought to his attention when a client called the board to make them aware of the situation.
“You’ve got people that will post on market place, Facebook marketplace, anything like that," Welch said. "[They'll] put a listing that’s actually for sale and put it as for rent. Sounds way too good to be true."
They’re getting smarter, adapting to their situations and appearing more legit to people online by taking public information that is already available on the internet.
“They’re getting a little bit more crafty now, where they take our license that’s we have to make public," Welch said. "We’re mandated by the Texas Real Estate Commission to make our license public.”
These scammers will pose as landlords or real estate agents, demanding large payments for a listing that isn't that high, or they will try and get personal information by getting you to sign a contract.
After they get what they want, they cut off all contact and pull the listing, taking the money for themselves and cutting off all contact.
Scammers will cast a wide net, trying to snag anyone they can. Usually, they go after people who have just moved into Midland and are looking for a short-term place to stay.
“Whenever somebody is really looking for a place to rent, they may be here for only a year or two years, coming in for work. Then they find something that normally, the rent is going for $3000 a month, now all of a sudden they see that same thing for 1200, of course it’s gonna sound to great to be true," Welch said. "Unfortunately, that’s what ends up happening, it’s just way to good to be true.”
So, how can you avoid getting tripped up by these scammers?
If you go to the actual address of the listed property, an actual real estate agent will normally have a sign out front with a number you can call to verify the information.
You can also give the PBBR a call, and they can verify the agent for you as well.
There are a number of red flags that you can catch as well. From the "realtor" not wanting to meet in person, the rent being below market value, demanding payment before applying, no realtor screening process and the list goes on.
“Another thing would be them being out of town, having an out of town phone number which many agents out here do. They have a lot of out of town phone numbers," Welch said. "If they want to communicate through text or email, they have grammatical errors in their text messages or emails, that's a big indicator as well."