NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Every time a natural disaster strikes, scammers are quick to cash in, and the deadly December tornadoes are no exception according to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky.
Lorneth Peters, the director of marketing and communications for the BBB of Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky, told News 2 there has been an uptick in rental property scams since the tornadoes hit, and they often happened on social media.
"Usually, natural disasters always welcome scammers, right, because scammers are opportunists and they're always looking for new ways to scam individuals in their time of need," Peters said.
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According to Peters, the scam typically begins with someone posting on social media that they've lost their home in the storm and are looking for a new place to live.
"The scammer sees that, they reach out to them, and they say, 'Hey, we have a property available, but you need to make sure you pay a deposit today for us to hold that property for you,'" Peters said.
According to the BBB, scammers use pressure tactics to convince victims to pay. They often use photos of homes they don't own and list the rent at a price that seems too good to be true. Scammers typically ask for a payment sent through apps including Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle, and once the deposit is made, the scammer disappears.
Several people who lost their homes in the storms and fell victim to this scam have reached out to the BBB for help.
"A lot of times individuals are embarrassed to submit information to Scam Tracker letting others know they've been scammed, so they call, they seek some direction from us, and we provide that to them," Peters said.
The BBB recommends that people who are looking for a rental home never make payments through apps like Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, etc., and use a credit card with better protections instead.
Experts also said to avoid paying upfront without seeing the property and use a reverse image search tool to determine whether the photos in the listing were taken from somewhere else.
"We know from many that are experiencing some challenges right now, and we want to make sure we protect them from scammers, which is why we always suggest you go to bbb.org and find a trusted business, find someone who offers property, because we've already done the research for you," Peters said.
If you have fallen victim to this scam or others, report it to the BBB by clicking here, report it to the Federal Trad Commission (FTC) by clicking here, and notify law enforcement.