A Houston woman is sharing her story after being deceived by a fraudulent rental listing, which she says was posted on a popular property website. Her experience serves as a warning for others navigating the rental market.
Kimberly Relford thought she had found her dream rental home: a 3-bedroom, 2-bath property listed for $1500 on Redfin. The price was lower than usual, but she reached out to the contact number provided and spoke with a man that went by Peter.
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Initial payment and red flags
Relford and her family toured the property using a self-guided code Peter provided. While the process felt unconventional, her family fell in love with the home.
“I thought, ‘Wow, that’s different,’” Relford said.
She completed an application and sent a $100 payment via PayPal, marked as “friends and family,” at Peter’s request. She wasn’t aware that such payments are non-refundable.
Within 20 minutes, Peter informed her she was approved for the home and emailed a lease agreement. But when Relford contacted another number associated with the property, she discovered the alarming truth: Peter was not affiliated with the home at all.
“They said they don’t know him and he doesn’t own the house,” Relford explained. When she tried to confront Peter on a three-way call, he abruptly hung up.
Attempts to reach Peter since then have been unsuccessful.
What neighbors are saying
Neighbors say they’ve seen a high volume of traffic to the rental home and began approaching potential renters to ask them why they were showing up without an agent.
Several of them gave the same story-- they saw the home listed for a price that seemed too good to be true, so they were given the same code as Relford to come see it in-person on a self-guided tour.
Lesson learned
She says her experience was a learning lesson. “I look back and I’m just thankful all he got was $100. He could’ve gotten more out of me and I could be on the street homeless. With the wrong family, that could happen” she said.
Redfin’s response
Relford’s experience prompted an investigation. Redfin confirmed that the listing had been created by someone using a stolen identity. When tested in our newsroom, the site’s fraud detection system prevented a similar fake listing from being published.
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In a statement, Redfin emphasized its commitment to combating fraudulent activity:
Redfin takes safety and security seriously and we have built a multi-layer approach to protect renters from fraud. We verify the identity of the individuals who post rental listings on our platform using an industry-leading third party. We also use a combination of technology and human review to screen all new rental listings for indications of fraud. Together, Redfin and Rent.com’s wealth of historical listing data helps us spot potentially fraudulent listings before they are posted. Despite our best efforts, we may not be able to stop all criminal activity.
In this case, it appears the scammer copied pictures and information from a legitimate rental listing that was posted on another site and used a stolen identity to post the listing on Redfin. We regret this occurred and will continue to use the latest tools and best practices to keep consumers safe and stay ahead of scammers. Renters can review these tips from the FTC for avoiding hard-to-spot scams. Always see the property in person and never pay anyone until you’ve visited the property and are ready to sign a lease.
Relford’s current realtor advised verifying that anyone you work with in real estate is certified by the Texas Real Estate Commission and meeting your realtor in person if you live in the same area.
For more tips on avoiding rental scams and what to watch out for, visit Click2Houston.com.
