BALTIMORE — A woman relocating to Baltimore ended up losing over $1,600 in a rental scam. And it appears the person who listed the property has done this to others.
In this instance, a renter, a college student, and a hair salon owner were all conned by someone pretending to own a home near Parkville.
WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii became aware of the property through Maya, a renter who asked to conceal her identity due to job and safety concerns.
“So I found the listing on Apartments.com and Redfin.com,” she told Sofastaii.
And she made a trip to check it out in-person.
“I did the virtual tour. I came to see where it was, but not the actual inside because they said they couldn't meet me here because they're out of state,” Maya said.
She understood since she was too, but she liked the photos and location enough to put down a $1,650 deposit via wire transfer, then she said all communication stopped.
“I think the following day, the phone number became blocked,” Maya added.
She had a copy of the landlord's driver's license, which he had sent to her as a sign of good faith, until she learned that wasn't him.
“I own zero property - Baltimore or anywhere else,” said Raymond Mattioli, a college student in a different state. A copy of Mattioli’s driver’s license had been emailed to Maya.
“How many times have you been contacted about this kind of scam?” Sofastaii asked him.
“I think at this point, probably like a half dozen. And it's been several cities. This is the first time I've heard Baltimore. I think it was mostly New York. One in Boston,” Mattioli responded.
He has no idea how this scammer obtained a copy of his license. His best guess is a data breach. He said this dates back to 2022, and despite filing reports with the Federal Trade Commission and credit bureaus, he hasn't found a way to stop the culprit.
“How frustrating is it for you to know that your identity is being used to steal money from other people?” Sofastaii asked.
“It sucks! I want to help the world. I don't want to hurt people, you know,” Mattioli responded.
Sofastaii tried contacting the scammer. They didn’t respond via email or phone.
Redfin took down the listing after Maya reported it. She also reported it to Apartments.com as did Sofastaii through their “Report an Issue” button. The listing wasn't removed until Sofastaii contacted them directly.
In an email, and Apartments.com spokesperson wrote:
“Apartments.com explicitly prohibits deceptive and fraudulent activity on its website, and takes action swiftly to remedy complaints. But Apartments.com is ultimately an online advertising site, and unfortunately, certain bad-actors attempt to take advantage of Apartments.com and its users. We have removed the Baltimore listing in question, and we are taking additional corrective steps to prevent future attempts at fraud.”
“Were you aware that your property was on Apartments.com?” Sofastaii asked Jennifer Klein.
“No, I was not,” said Klein, who owns the property as well as a hair salon in Locust Point.
Klein added that the house has already been rented, and this isn’t her only property being targeted.
“I don't know what to do. Because like I said, I have another property this has been happening to for about a month on Facebook and I've been getting phone calls from other people,” said Klein.
Her phone number is in the window of her Federal Hill property, which is how she discovered that someone put up a fake rental listing on Facebook. So far, she's heard from four people who have lost money.
“Nobody should do a virtual tour. Everyone should go and see before they hand off any money,” Klein advised.
Another red flag is the listing price, which was significantly lower than the actual rent.
“They listed it for $1,650. How much are you listing it for?” Sofastaii asked Klein.
“Two-thousand,” Klein responded. “They also did the one down here half price.”
Maya reported this fraud to her bank, and the bank where the wire transfer was sent. They’re still investigating.
After you've seen the property in-person, researched the address, landlord, or property management company, pay using a personal check or credit card. Click here for additional information on how to avoid rental scams.
