Rental Scams Exposed

P.T Barnum once said, "There's a sucker bor nevery minute and two to take his money.

On Sunday September 7 the Culver City Police Department said that they was investigating multiple recent reported cases of rental scams that were initiated on social media.

In each instance, a victim responded to a Facebook ad for an apartment rental, police said. They agreed to meet the seller at a location in Culver City, where they exchanged cash and a rental agreement, according to a police statement.

When the victim attempted to enter the rental, they discovered the keys did not open the door and the suspect would no longer respond to messages. Police Department investigators have received multiple reports of similar occurrences between July 4 and Aug. 27.

The methods suspects use in these scams can take various forms, such as phantom listings of locations that are unavailable or may not exist, fake virtual tours that may be pre-recorded, and ad manipulation replicating genuine rental advertisements, according to police.