Source: The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.迷你倉新蒲崗Aug. 29--Hours after Rickia Franklin and her boyfriend, Billy Grant, moved furniture into the home they rented in Perris, they got the shock of their life.The woman who drove up in a Mercedes-Benz to open the lockbox to the four-bedroom home on Lake View Drive, showed them the rental property on two occasions and collected the first month's $1,150 rent and security deposit before handing over their keys was an imposter.Now the couple is homeless. They're out $2,300 in cash.And Monica Lopez, the program manager of Fair Housing Council of Riverside County, says this type of rental scam is playing out with too much frequency in the Inland region."It's become an issue in the last six to eight months,'' she said, and is concentrated most heavily in Moreno Valley, Perris, San Jacinto and Hemet."I feel horrible, and tricked and lied to,'' Grant said. "It's been grueling," Franklin said on the day police knocked on the door of the four-bedroom home they'd moved into 48 hours before to tell them they had to move out."Their case is being actively investigated,'' said Sgt. Ryan Hoxmeier, of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. "It does appear that they were a victim of a rental scam."Riverside County Chief Deputy District Attorney Vicki Hightower said rental scams seem to go hand-in-hand with the foreclosure crisis."We have noticed it is on the upswing,'' Hightower said, particularly where foreclosure activity is prevalent. "People who lose homes to foreclosure have to rent,'' she said, and the scammers have an ample supply of products to use as their pawn to commit the crime.Typically, thieves scout a house that has been foreclosed or pluck one from legitimate real estate listings for the con. An ad is placed at prices well below the going rate. Cash is collected, and a trumped-up lease, signed.When the true owner or listing agent appears on the scene, the renter is evicted and loses the cash they put up. The landlord they've met is nowhere to be seen.Franklin and Grant were thrilled about the nearly new home they found to share with Billy's sister, Tyra, and another relative. They believed the woman was a real estate agent because of the way she handled herself, and the lease they all signed."She even ran a credit report,'' Franklin said, collecting $50 to run their personal information.Now fleeced of their cash, the couple is working with police to find the woman who typed the name, Myrna Cadavona on the lease.Their furniture is in storage.Daily belongings are being shuttled from place-to-place in a compact car that is so old the sun has scorched the paint.Tyra, 9, is relieved she can trot off to school -- leaving behind the sliver of space in the back seat of a car that otherwise is crammed with clothes. Pressed to talk about迷你倉出租what that was like, Tyra tried to put on a brave face before uttering, "I feel bad.""We lost all the money we had,'' Franklin said. "To make matters worse, we were accused of squatting: Thank goodness for the police who recognized we were tricked; we were scammed."Jeff Schlansky, manager of CA-Realty of Murrieta, said he feels bad for the couple who moved into the property under false pretenses.But the owner of the home and the tenant who signed an authentic lease are victims, too, Schlansky said.It took awhile to convince police and the couple that CA-Realty held the legitimate lease. After pressing, he said authorities agreed to cite the no-trespassing code The renter had to delay his family's move-in date."We've seen rental scams before,'' Schlansky said. "What's new to us is how this went."Typically, the imposters steal the pictures and try to rent the home at a lower rate -- sight, unseen -- through ads. "This was different,'' he said. "Real people were involved. This is sophisticated, more immediate."The recording on Cadanova's phone says, "The person you are trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time."Rental scams are also being played out in San Bernardino County.The Inland Fair Housing and Remediation Board said staff took a call from a woman Wednesday who said she was getting kicked out of a home in Loma Linda by code enforcement and police. Like the Perris couple, this woman signed a lease with someone who did not own the property.The crimes seem to come in waves."It's cyclical,'' Lopez said, noting that these schemes were especially profound in 2010 when foreclosures were at a peak. "It was rampant: We'd get at least one complaint a week.""Remediation doesn't work,'' Lopez said: "These are folks bent on breaking the law. They don't care who they hurt in the process. One Spanish woman paid two companies the same day to try to find a place. She spent $500, and wound up with nothing."The Fair Housing Council can help people find affordable housing and Section 8 rentals at no cost. A pamphlet has also been developed to help avoid rental property scams.Rental Scam Avoidance TipsIf the rent and property looks to good to be true, it may be a sham.Meet the landlord personally.Do not conduct business -- give out credit card or social security numbers -- over the phone.Ask for identification of those you meet.If the listing is handled by a property management company, run it through the Better Business Bureau or state licensing department to check for complaints.Talk to neighbors, current tenants -- if possible.Check property records to verify the owner.Steer clear of cash-only transactions.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.) Visit The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.) at .PE.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉
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