I received a text from someone asking me if I could list houses on Facebook Market Place in different states. After taking the job received a second text stating fees and asking how I would like to get paid. The options were PayPal or a bank deposit. Cautiously, I asked to be paid through my website. The third text was a rental listing I was told to post in the Phoenix area, along with an email link as a point of contact. The price of the rental listing seemed low, but the property looked in disarray, and I do not know much about the Phoenix real estate market, so I went ahead and posted the listing.
Within a short time, my phone started blowing up with inquiries about the rental. Although I put the proper email link in and directed the searcher in bold letters to click on it for more information, I kept getting the bulk of the inquiries, so I sent the information to the person who contacted me to post the listing. He sent back a scathing text accusing me of not following instructions and how it was made clear that all directories go to the email he gave me. He asked me for a screenshot of the ad, which I sent him. It must have been clear that I must have posted the ad right because I received another listing to post and a promise that after the second listing, I would receive $300. The amount seemed excessive, and I was suspicious. I asked for his phone number because the text was coming through with an email. I wanted to speak with this guy to iron out the confusion. He wouldn’t give me his phone number and said we would continue to correspond the same way.
Red flags went off. When someone refuses to have a phone conversation there’s a reason. and it’s not because they are too busy. Most of the time they're hiding something, and are up to no good. I told him we were done and took the listing down. Then I researched the property, which I should have done in the first place, and found it wasn’t for rent and was being occupied by the owner. So, what was the play? My theory is whoever was behind this wasn’t looking to rent anything. He was looking to collect information that goes on a rental application. Most of the time a rental form will require you to enter bank information and your social security number. Once a scammer gets ahold of those things they can wreak havoc on your financial life. It could have been for other purposes, but my take it was an attempt at identity theft by using me as a proxy recruiter.
Be Careful Out There
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