On Thursday, January 26, 2023, at about 1:00 pm, the Prescott Valley Police Department was notified of a rental scam.  The victim reported she found a home to rent online. She reviewed all the online information and decided the home was a perfect fit for her needs. The property was listed on popular rental sites such as Zillow, Rentals.com and Trulia.

The rental appeared to be a great deal at a great price, which was significantly lower than any other rental in the area. She began correspondence with the alleged property owners via email. She stated the owners told her that they were currently out of state, but that they really wanted her to rent the property. She was never able to access the inside of the home but was told that she could look through the windows and see the inside. She stated the property was furnished. She was instructed to send a deposit but felt that something wasn’t right and called Prescott Valley Police Department. The property ended up not being up for rent.

The Federal Trade Commission offers the following tips to avoid a rental scam:

Do an online search of the rental company. Enter its name plus words like “review,” “complaint” or “scam.” If you find bad reviews, you may want to look elsewhere.
Got a good vibe? Rental home listings may appear in several places, including rental company websites and online listing services like Zillow, Trulia, or Craigslist. If you see a rental company’s listing on one of those online listing services, do a search of the home’s address to make sure it appears on the rental company’s website. If it doesn’t, it may be a scam.
Compare prices. Is the rent a lot less than comparable rentals? That could be a red flag.
Take a tour. Ask for identification. Rental agents should have photo ID badges issued by the company that owns or manages the property.
Nothing sketchy yet? Apply through the rental company, licensed real estate professional, or listings website.
Before you sign a lease, look for signs at the rental with the name of the property owner or manager. Call that company before making a deal with anyone.
Never pay with cash, wire transfers or gift cards.  If anyone tells you to pay this way, it’s a sure sign of a scam.  Wiring money is like sending cash — once you send it, you have no way to get it back. As for gift cards, they’re for gifts, NOT for payments.
The Federal Trade Commission reports that billions of dollars are lost every year to scams in all sorts of forms.  You can get more information on scams and frauds by visiting the Federal Trade Commission website at https://consumer.ftc.gov/ and subscribing to Consumer Alerts.

Prescott Valley Police Department can be contacted at (928) 772-9267 for non-emergencies, 911 for emergencies.   Yavapai Silent witness is 1-800-932-3232.

IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING!