Imposter Zumper

Omar – Aug 04, 2020

Victim Location 13035

Type of a scam Rental

I was trying to rent the place listed and it seems like a scam can’t come see the place just send them the money

Shaun –

Victim Location 90211

Total money lost $1,600

Type of a scam Rental

I am a senior seeking a new home in the Los Angeles area. I went to the site Zumper, to begin searching for an affordable home. Which is very difficult in Los Angeles and the homeless population is overwhelming. I have spent the past 18 months seeking affordable senior housing & the waiting list for most places is 3 – 5 yrs. I made inquiry for 2 apts on the Zumper website & received a response from Michael Turner (pretty much like the post on your site.) He started describing the apartment & that he usually is looking for short stay tenants. Explained that he is on oil rig & that is why he has his apartment vacant. Initially, he was saying that the apartment is fully furnished & all utilities paid. We discussed the apartment for approximately 7 – 10 days. He told me he is using a site HomeAway, to manage the rental of his property. He told me that I would receive information from them regarding the rental contract. I did receive a detailed rental agreement approximately 9 pages. I did a separate search about HomeAway & was a valid site & received the rental agreement. The rental agreement that I needed to provide first & deposit for $1600. Michael also, sent photo’s and stated once I sent funds via Bitcoin then he would arrange the tour. Also, the HomeAway stated that I would receive a refund at any time if I did not want to move forward. I started to feel uneasy about the rental when he requests sending Bitcoin. I went to the HomeAway site & it did list a number of ways to send money and Bitcoin was listed as a form of payment. This fraud was so detailed with links to a valid site, a picture of the condo & references. Also, ask me to send identification – passport photo & he sent a copy of his passport.

Erik –

Victim Location 93705

Type of a scam Rental

I went on to a website looking for houses for rent and inquired about a specific house that I was interested in and about 2 weeks later I rec’d an e-mail saying that they were pleased that I wrote about the home and gave me details about what was included in the rent. The landlord stated that he recently got a job in NY and had to re-locate and needed someone to vacate his home and wanted me to be his tenant. He then sent a rental Agreement to me by e-mail and said was going to mail the keys and docouments. My son lives a few houses away from the rental property and said that there was someone outside the home and claimed to be the home owner by a different name and that the house was sold and off market. This Guy then calls me from NY to try and asure me that the person was just the gardner. He then stated to secure the home I would need to send a security Deposit to his wife’s bank account and has been calling me numberous times and being very persistant.

Leave a Reply