JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida is such a hot housing market, First Coast News spoke with the better business bureau about what risks buyers and renters face if they’re not paying close attention.
“It just worries me that other people out there, maybe they are in better situations as far a credit goes, and maybe they have more in their bank account than I do that he’s just going to be sucking other people dry," said Desiree Chestnut.
Chestnut has been looking for her dream home since March and when she thought she found it it slipped right out of her hands.
“I found this home that was for rent on realtor.com. It was really nice in my price range. I contacted the man listed on the listing," said Chestnut.
The man offered to let her tour the home remotely and asked for a picture of her ID.
Chestnut toured the home and she loved it.
“He said well I have another person looking at it if you want to take it. I'll tell them not to come and look at it and I was like well yeah I think I do want it," said Chestnut.
Pressure tactics can be one red flag to watch for. The man said he couldn’t take a check or money order deposit to hold the house. That was another red flag.
“He got a little aroused by that and said well we work from home. We work from home. Again, a little suspicious but not too suspicious. I am a stranger so maybe he didn’t want me coming to his home," said Chestnut.
The alleged landlord asked chestnut to send money through Zelle, a cash transfer app.
She sent more than 2 thousand dollars and while doing so she asked for him to provide paperwork and he did which she says put her at ease.
“I told him that I needed to call my bank because he kept saying it wasn’t going through and I was like let me just get off the phone with you and call my bank and that’s when I realized I think this is a scam," said Chestnut.
By then it was too late. Her bank said it couldn’t cancel the transaction because her money was already in another account.
Chestnut immediately reached out to JSO but since she willingly gave the money, she says they told her it would be a civil, not criminal matter.
She also contacted the FBI. An agency spokesperson could not confirm if they’ve opened an investigation but did encourage victims of internet crimes to submit complaints, allowing the FBI to track and connect to potential scam victims .
Chestnut says she reached back out to the man asking for a refund, which he said he would provide but never did.
“If they done that to me who else are they doing it to. How many people did they do this before me. How many people are they going to do this after me that nobody wants to take any justice on it. Now that it frustrating," said Chestnut.
Chestnut did file a complaint with realtor.com, and they did remove the property off their listings.
Chestnut also has a go fund me if you would like to help donate to her family to help replace these funds. You can click here to donate.