Cayuga County sheriff, Auburn real estate agent warn of property scams
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office and an Auburn real estate agent are urging community members to be wary of local property scams.
The sheriff's office said in a Facebook post Wednesday that the area is seeing real estate and rental property scams, which were explained by Matt Chalanick, owner of the Real Estate Agency in Auburn.
When realtors list vacant homes, the sheriff's office said, pictures of them are sometimes stolen and used in advertisements online. The scammers will claim they can only communicate through email due to being deaf or too busy to answer the phone. The ad will say prospective renters can walk around the property and look through the windows, but cannot go inside.
If a renter is interested, the sheriff's office said, they are asked to send the scammer a deposit, normally one month of rent money or that plus a security deposit.
"In some cases even a lease is signed. The renter then thinks they have rented the property and it has even gotten as far as the tenant trying to occupy the property," the sheriff's office said.
"Lo and behold, they find out it is a scam and their check has already been cashed."
The sheriff's office said Chalanick recently received an email from someone he thought was the owner of a Cayuga County property, as the email had an outlook.com address with the actual owner's first and last name. The sender asked for a market analysis and, after receiving that, a listing agreement. Concerned, the realtor asked the sender to call him. They spoke for a long time, and the person knew a lot about the property. But upon further review, Chalanick realized the person did not own the property and was using publicly available information about it to set up a scam.
"Beware when attempting to purchase property or providing down payments," the sheriff's office said. "Make sure you know who you are dealing with."
Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or . Love
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