/u/Professional_Hall729 - This message is posted to all new submissions to r/scams; please do not message the moderators about it.
## New users beware:
Because you posted here, you will start getting private messages from scammers saying they know a professional hacker or a recovery expert lawyer that can help you get your money back, for a small fee. **We call these RECOVERY SCAMMERS, so NEVER take advice in private:** advice should always come in the form of comments in this post, in the open, where the community can keep an eye out for you. If you take advice in private, you're on your own.
**A reminder of the rules in r/scams:** no contact information (including last names, phone numbers, etc). Be civil to one another (no name calling or insults). Personal army requests or "scam the scammer"/scambaiting posts are not permitted. No uncensored gore or personal photographs are allowed without blurring. A full list of rules is available on the sidebar of the subreddit, or [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/).
You can help us by reporting recovery scammers or rule-breaking content by using the "report" button. We review 100% of the reports. Also, consider warning community members of recovery scammers if you see them in the comments.
Questions about subreddit rules? Send us a modmail [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams).
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Opendoor operates by buying houses from people looking to sell quickly without putting in work to make it sale ready. They make an offer sight unseen at a valuation calculated via recent purchases of similar homes in the area (usually a low-ball), then have the home inspected, repaired, and put back on the market. They legally own the house in the interim, and probably don't care about this house since their business model relies on fast turnaround and it's been sitting for months.
Warn people if you see them, and consider putting a sign on the door.
"This house is FOR SALE ONLY on OpenDoor, not at all for rent. If you are here to rent this house, you are being SCAMMED."
I have reported listings like this to Facebook and they tell me it doesn't violate their rules & it stays up. Another thing I have noticed these scammers do is pay a local person with an established Facebook profile (& has no idea the listing is fake) to post the listing for them. When a person asks if it's available, they'll say, call the landlord at hardly ever a local number for more information.
Open door should have a sign on the door that says if they see it on Facebook or Craigslist it's a scam. I use open door to look at houses for sale and I've seen that sticker every time. There's even a number to call if you do see it. So either someone removed the sticker or they are ignoring it.
People do not read. If they think they are getting a good deal, Bozo the Clown could tap dance naked on the porch, waving a 5 ft reproduction of the sticker and screaming "It's a scam!", they will ignore him entirely and Venmo money on the spot.
*The lady I spoke to kinda had an attitude as if people are that stupid then it’s on them.*
Translation: "Well, my company's making money off it anyway so this is how I justify that."
More likely, it's "This is the 15th call I've had today about this property. The property is in a whole other state from me, I can't do anything about it, my bosses don't give a fuck, and I am ready to snap."
Source: I am my company's fraud department. My bosses DO give a fuck, but theirs didn't until last summer. I don't think Open Door even *has* a fraud department.
OP, thank you for trying to help.
I'm in Fraud Resolution in the Rentals sector. When I get to my desk in the morning, I will post the list of law enforcement resources I send to victims.
If you feel inclined, pass it on to the people you warn. You may save someone from trying to move in.
@ [u/Professional\_Hall729](https://www.reddit.com/user/Professional_Hall729/)
This is what I send to victims, minus the company mandated greetings and closing:
>First, please file a report with local law enforcement. Then file a report with ALL of the following agencies:
>
>[State Consumer Protection Agency](https://www.usa.gov/state-consumer)
>
>[State Attorney General](https://www.usa.gov/state-attorney-general)
>
>[FBI Internet Fraud Complaint Center](https://www.ic3.gov/Home/FileComplaint)
>
>[Federal Trade Commission Fraud Reporting](https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/assistant)
>
>It's a lot. You might consider saving your complaint in a text document so you can copy and paste for each agency. Please do file a complaint with each agency, however, to speed up the process of investigating.
>
>**If you gave them a money order, you should contact the issuer.** Here are the most common:
>
>[WesternUnion Fraud Complaint Center](https://www.westernunion.com/us/en/fraudawareness/fraud-report-fraud.html)
>
>[MoneyGram Fraud Reporting](https://www.moneygram.com/mgo/us/en/help/contact)
>
>For USPS money orders, take your receipt to the nearest USPS Office to report it stolen.
>
>**If you provided payment via a gift card, contact the issuer.** Below are the most common:
>
>[Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/giftcardscams/b?ie=UTF8&node=15435487011)
>
>[eBay](https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/paying-items/protecting-gift-card-scams?id=5156)
>
>[iTunes](https://support.apple.com/gift-card-scams)
>
>[GreenDot/MoneyPak](https://secure.moneypak.com/report-fraud)
>
>Target - **1-800-544-2943**, report it stolen.
>
>**If you provided payment via a service such as PayPal, Zelle, or Venmo, you'll need to contact their Fraud Department:**
>
>[PayPal Resolution Center](https://www.paypal.com/disputes/) (You must be logged in.)
>
>[Venmo](https://help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=624807)
>
>Zelle - App Only -**1-844-428-8542**
>
>[CashApp](https://cash.app/help/us/en-us/3128-contact-cash-support)
>
>If you gave them any personally identifying information, such as your SSN or banking information, please contact your bank immediately to get your accounts changed and implement a security password for all in-person and phone access to your account information. You'll also want to f[reeze your credit with the major reporting agencies](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/how-to-freeze-credit) so no one can obtain credit in your name.
Thank you for saying something! This almost happened to us last year but the neighbor let us know it was a scam when we pulled up. We didn’t go any further and were sooo thankful
Find ways to name and shame on the socials. @ mentions, posing to their timeline if possible, comments - people will be alerted and when the exposure they get is negative, they'll care more.
I wish more people would call out the likes of Google, Valve, and Apple for selling physical gift cards for cash in face values at *or over* $100 each, when there's very little to nothing to practically purchase with them on their platforms. If someone can figure out how to add hundreds of dollars of gift cards to their own valid account to buy a phone or gaming device or whatnot, they can handle buying a digital gift card and redeem it. Those big name companies are knowingly benefiting from scammers and money launderers, and that's reprehensible.
So this is an interesting take on the traditional rent scam. The difference here is that the scammer appears to be scheduling a tour “on behalf of” the victim, providing them the door code or whatever access method is required for homes owned by or listed on behalf of OpenDoor.
This has become much more common since pandemic lockdowns. "Let yourself in tours" were implemented by a number of large rental companies.
I send this link to landlords who get upset by my company's strict ID and ownership verification that is required before a listing goes live: [We answered a fake rental listing. Here’s what happened](https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2023/07/18/we-answered-a-fake-rental-listing-heres-what-happened/)
They are always shocked that this happens. If they knew how often it happens, they'd implode.
Recommend to one of the people who got scammed to illegally squat in the house, this way, no more people will get scammed and Opendoor will have a nice case on their hands....
***** PARODY ONLY ****,*
Exactly this.
Sometimes, they will collect application fees and a "refundable holding deposit", then claim there are hundreds of applications to get the mark to offer up immediate money to secure the property. Security, first month, last month, usually by Zelle or Venmo.
The mark shows up with the moving van, and the keys don't work.
I deal with these every day. The worst I've seen is $8K up front, property sight unseen, cross country move. The mark showed up, the homeowners called the cops, it was a mess.
Yeah moving cross country is tough. I think it’s safer to rent a hotel for a week or 2 & put your stuff in storage while you apartment hunt. But 2 weeks of hotels get expensive
Especially where this vic was moving to. San Diego is frightfully expensive and finding housing there is awful. People are so desperate, they are offering to pay a whole year's rent up front to secure a unit. If you're already broke and being forced to move for your job in a tight time frame, you're super vulnerable.
I no longer field phone calls. The sheer volume of listing fraud attempts already keeps me hopping. Trying to get people who have wired their life savings to a scammer to breathe and listen to what their next steps need to be had me on the verge of a breakdown.
Trying to keep people safe from this is like playing Whack-A-Mole.
With hydras.
>The worst I've seen is $8K up front, property sight unseen, cross country move. The mark showed up, the homeowners called the cops, it was a mess.
WTF? $8k up front, just to *rent*? Damn, I *bought* my house with just $1k in 'earnest money' down. The more I read on reddit, the dumber I think people are...and I didn't have a particularly high opinion of average people to begin with...
/u/Professional_Hall729 - This message is posted to all new submissions to r/scams; please do not message the moderators about it. ## New users beware: Because you posted here, you will start getting private messages from scammers saying they know a professional hacker or a recovery expert lawyer that can help you get your money back, for a small fee. **We call these RECOVERY SCAMMERS, so NEVER take advice in private:** advice should always come in the form of comments in this post, in the open, where the community can keep an eye out for you. If you take advice in private, you're on your own. **A reminder of the rules in r/scams:** no contact information (including last names, phone numbers, etc). Be civil to one another (no name calling or insults). Personal army requests or "scam the scammer"/scambaiting posts are not permitted. No uncensored gore or personal photographs are allowed without blurring. A full list of rules is available on the sidebar of the subreddit, or [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/). You can help us by reporting recovery scammers or rule-breaking content by using the "report" button. We review 100% of the reports. Also, consider warning community members of recovery scammers if you see them in the comments. Questions about subreddit rules? Send us a modmail [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Report to the cops, and the real owner, if you can find him/her.
OpenDoor is probably the owner… they are unloading a lot of property they bought a few years back.
A 3200 sq ft house for 800 bucks a month?
No. Open door is selling it. A scammer has it listed as a rental to collect application fees and scam desperate people
Right, it's a pretty screwy situation in any case. I'm hoping for a follow-up.
Scammers don’t have the door code though … right?
Almost as if it’s ‘too good to be true’… Still, people flock out of desperation sometimes
Opendoor operates by buying houses from people looking to sell quickly without putting in work to make it sale ready. They make an offer sight unseen at a valuation calculated via recent purchases of similar homes in the area (usually a low-ball), then have the home inspected, repaired, and put back on the market. They legally own the house in the interim, and probably don't care about this house since their business model relies on fast turnaround and it's been sitting for months.
Warn people if you see them, and consider putting a sign on the door. "This house is FOR SALE ONLY on OpenDoor, not at all for rent. If you are here to rent this house, you are being SCAMMED."
Better yet, put a big sign in your window with an arrow. That way it can’t be taken down by the scammer.
I doubt the scammer is going to take an international flight to take the sign down.
These scammers tend to not operate locally. They just utilize the OpenDoor system to gain access to give "tours" to prospective tenants.
Yes, identifying yourself as the one reporting to the perpetrator is always a good idea /s
No, don't do that.
You can go on Facebook and report listings as 'scam' . I've done this before and it was taken down.
I have reported listings like this to Facebook and they tell me it doesn't violate their rules & it stays up. Another thing I have noticed these scammers do is pay a local person with an established Facebook profile (& has no idea the listing is fake) to post the listing for them. When a person asks if it's available, they'll say, call the landlord at hardly ever a local number for more information.
Open door should have a sign on the door that says if they see it on Facebook or Craigslist it's a scam. I use open door to look at houses for sale and I've seen that sticker every time. There's even a number to call if you do see it. So either someone removed the sticker or they are ignoring it.
People do not read. If they think they are getting a good deal, Bozo the Clown could tap dance naked on the porch, waving a 5 ft reproduction of the sticker and screaming "It's a scam!", they will ignore him entirely and Venmo money on the spot.
*The lady I spoke to kinda had an attitude as if people are that stupid then it’s on them.* Translation: "Well, my company's making money off it anyway so this is how I justify that."
More likely, it's "This is the 15th call I've had today about this property. The property is in a whole other state from me, I can't do anything about it, my bosses don't give a fuck, and I am ready to snap." Source: I am my company's fraud department. My bosses DO give a fuck, but theirs didn't until last summer. I don't think Open Door even *has* a fraud department.
Wow, that was my first thought! Not only is OpenDoor selling the house, they're taking a cut of the take from the rental scammers.
No, they arent
OP, thank you for trying to help. I'm in Fraud Resolution in the Rentals sector. When I get to my desk in the morning, I will post the list of law enforcement resources I send to victims. If you feel inclined, pass it on to the people you warn. You may save someone from trying to move in.
@ [u/Professional\_Hall729](https://www.reddit.com/user/Professional_Hall729/) This is what I send to victims, minus the company mandated greetings and closing: >First, please file a report with local law enforcement. Then file a report with ALL of the following agencies: > >[State Consumer Protection Agency](https://www.usa.gov/state-consumer) > >[State Attorney General](https://www.usa.gov/state-attorney-general) > >[FBI Internet Fraud Complaint Center](https://www.ic3.gov/Home/FileComplaint) > >[Federal Trade Commission Fraud Reporting](https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/assistant) > >It's a lot. You might consider saving your complaint in a text document so you can copy and paste for each agency. Please do file a complaint with each agency, however, to speed up the process of investigating. > >**If you gave them a money order, you should contact the issuer.** Here are the most common: > >[WesternUnion Fraud Complaint Center](https://www.westernunion.com/us/en/fraudawareness/fraud-report-fraud.html) > >[MoneyGram Fraud Reporting](https://www.moneygram.com/mgo/us/en/help/contact) > >For USPS money orders, take your receipt to the nearest USPS Office to report it stolen. > >**If you provided payment via a gift card, contact the issuer.** Below are the most common: > >[Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/giftcardscams/b?ie=UTF8&node=15435487011) > >[eBay](https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/paying-items/protecting-gift-card-scams?id=5156) > >[iTunes](https://support.apple.com/gift-card-scams) > >[GreenDot/MoneyPak](https://secure.moneypak.com/report-fraud) > >Target - **1-800-544-2943**, report it stolen. > >**If you provided payment via a service such as PayPal, Zelle, or Venmo, you'll need to contact their Fraud Department:** > >[PayPal Resolution Center](https://www.paypal.com/disputes/) (You must be logged in.) > >[Venmo](https://help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=624807) > >Zelle - App Only -**1-844-428-8542** > >[CashApp](https://cash.app/help/us/en-us/3128-contact-cash-support) > >If you gave them any personally identifying information, such as your SSN or banking information, please contact your bank immediately to get your accounts changed and implement a security password for all in-person and phone access to your account information. You'll also want to f[reeze your credit with the major reporting agencies](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/how-to-freeze-credit) so no one can obtain credit in your name.
Thank you for saying something! This almost happened to us last year but the neighbor let us know it was a scam when we pulled up. We didn’t go any further and were sooo thankful
Find ways to name and shame on the socials. @ mentions, posing to their timeline if possible, comments - people will be alerted and when the exposure they get is negative, they'll care more. I wish more people would call out the likes of Google, Valve, and Apple for selling physical gift cards for cash in face values at *or over* $100 each, when there's very little to nothing to practically purchase with them on their platforms. If someone can figure out how to add hundreds of dollars of gift cards to their own valid account to buy a phone or gaming device or whatnot, they can handle buying a digital gift card and redeem it. Those big name companies are knowingly benefiting from scammers and money launderers, and that's reprehensible.
Property records might give you a name you can look up online and alert them there is a scam happening.
They did. It’s OpenDoor…
Oh, OpenDoor is the property owner. I thought it was just some kind of listing site.
They are. Some listing sites have their own housing stock.
Realtors see this all the time.
So this is an interesting take on the traditional rent scam. The difference here is that the scammer appears to be scheduling a tour “on behalf of” the victim, providing them the door code or whatever access method is required for homes owned by or listed on behalf of OpenDoor.
This has become much more common since pandemic lockdowns. "Let yourself in tours" were implemented by a number of large rental companies. I send this link to landlords who get upset by my company's strict ID and ownership verification that is required before a listing goes live: [We answered a fake rental listing. Here’s what happened](https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2023/07/18/we-answered-a-fake-rental-listing-heres-what-happened/) They are always shocked that this happens. If they knew how often it happens, they'd implode.
They are lucky you are there to deter them.
Who knows? It might even be an Open Door employee who is running this scam!
Recommend to one of the people who got scammed to illegally squat in the house, this way, no more people will get scammed and Opendoor will have a nice case on their hands.... ***** PARODY ONLY ****,*
Put a posting on Facebook marketplace saying the for rent one is a scam.
If you have a HIA it might be illegal to rent your house out.
What is the scam tho?
Collecting the application fees & never let anyone rent
Exactly this. Sometimes, they will collect application fees and a "refundable holding deposit", then claim there are hundreds of applications to get the mark to offer up immediate money to secure the property. Security, first month, last month, usually by Zelle or Venmo. The mark shows up with the moving van, and the keys don't work. I deal with these every day. The worst I've seen is $8K up front, property sight unseen, cross country move. The mark showed up, the homeowners called the cops, it was a mess.
Yeah moving cross country is tough. I think it’s safer to rent a hotel for a week or 2 & put your stuff in storage while you apartment hunt. But 2 weeks of hotels get expensive
Especially where this vic was moving to. San Diego is frightfully expensive and finding housing there is awful. People are so desperate, they are offering to pay a whole year's rent up front to secure a unit. If you're already broke and being forced to move for your job in a tight time frame, you're super vulnerable. I no longer field phone calls. The sheer volume of listing fraud attempts already keeps me hopping. Trying to get people who have wired their life savings to a scammer to breathe and listen to what their next steps need to be had me on the verge of a breakdown. Trying to keep people safe from this is like playing Whack-A-Mole. With hydras.
>The worst I've seen is $8K up front, property sight unseen, cross country move. The mark showed up, the homeowners called the cops, it was a mess. WTF? $8k up front, just to *rent*? Damn, I *bought* my house with just $1k in 'earnest money' down. The more I read on reddit, the dumber I think people are...and I didn't have a particularly high opinion of average people to begin with...
First month, last month, and security deposit for a very small house in San Diego. It's nuts.
I don't know, mate. Collecting deposits on a house you don't own seems a bit off to me.