Groups of people come to a couple’s front door and ask when they can move in — but their home is not for rent.
The couple in Arlington, Virginia, said they’re victims of a rental scam in which their home was listed on several websites. They say some of the would-be renters told them they lost deposits they placed.
Since March, as many as three groups of people at a time have come to the door of Pete Giannino and Kate Colwell’s charming brick home. They told them, often through a Spanish interpreter they brought along, that they saw ads for the home online.
Colwell said her heart broke when some of the would-be renters said they had already put down deposit money.
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“They’re telling us that they’ve lost $1,800 deposits. They’re telling us they were promised that the scammer would meet them here at our door and give them a tour of the home,” she said.
Distressed to learn that people were getting ripped off, Giannino contacted police. He said he spoke in April with an Arlington detective who described what happened as a problem in the community.
Arlington police told News4 they have not located any victims who lost money to the scam, and that the couple’s case is considered inactive.
Top home rental websites advise researching a neighborhood’s average rental prices before putting down a deposit. If a home seems too good to be true, proceed with caution.
A sign is now on display outside Giannino and Colwell’s home.
“This house is NOT for rent. You are being lied to be a scammer on the internet who is committing crimes of fraud and theft. Please report the scam to the police immediately,” it says.
Giannino said they didn’t want to have to put up the sign.
“We got to our wits’ ends and we were like, we don’t want to be those ugly neighbors, but we’ve got to put signs in the front just to let people know about what’s going on,” he said.
