Logan Taylor has been a registered nurse for 10 years and a traveling nurse for about a year.
While she lives on Florida's east coast, the COVID-19 situation presented her with a chance to work on the west coast after shegot an eight-week assignment in Lee County.
So far, that choice has cost her $2,250 to an apartment scam. When she showed up to get the keys for theapartment she thought she had rented online, someone was already living there.
"I just wanted my own unit," said Taylor,48, who lives in Sebastian."Because of the COVID-19 I didn't want a hotel."
Embarrassmentand lost finances aside, Taylor said she came forward so the same thing doesn't happen to someone else. She has filed a report with the Lee County Sheriff's Office, with the FBI's internet scam office and with her bank.
She had done three other such assignments and never had a problem.
"I've never had an issue. I usually get my own housing," she said. "I usually use Airbnbor Furnished Finder."
While trying to find something to rent in Southwest Florida that was reasonable, Taylor came across a rental property on Craigslist in Fort Myers.
She contacted the rental person through the site, agreed upon a price, signed and returned a lease emailed to her, and then used the Zelle app from her bank to forkover $1,958 in rent and a security deposit.
Then thingsstarted to take a curious turn.
"In the lease it said parking was included," she said. "But the man asked for $400 for parking. I started to sense something was wrong."
She got him to drop the parking fee to $250 and marked on Zelle the money was sent "under duress."
The last time she had contact with the guy was on April 17 when she texted him if he had notified the gate at the community where the unit was. He told her yes.
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The biggest shock came when she got past the gate but found no landlord, no key and another couple living at the unit.
"They were very nice, asked me if I needed anything," she said. "I know this stuff happens, but it angers me."
That couple, Robert and Barbara Coleman, owners of the Trailwinds Drive address in the Balurol Village Condocommunity,had sold the unit and were making final moving preparations when they noticed a stranger, Taylor, approaching them.
"We were actually packing," Robert Coleman said. "She walked up to the door. I asked her what she wanted and she said 'I rented this place'. I told her my wife and I live here, we sold the place. Immediately, she said, 'I got scammed'."
Barbara Colemansaid she hadn't heard of a similar instance of rental scamming at the community, and Robert Coleman said a giveaway for someone who knows is that the community does not charge for parking.
Robert Coleman said the couple had owned the unit for five years, listed it in mid-March and sold it to a couple from Illinois. The Colemans now live in northwestern Pennsylvania.
He said that the photos in the ad were the same ones provided to the couple's real estate agent to be used in selling the unit.
"I walked with her to her car and she tried to call a number (she had texted with about) the ad," he said. "The number was disconnected. You could see the color drain right out of her. I'm sure she got scammed."
"I felt my stomach go'woooo'," Taylor added.
Since that last contact with the "landlord" Taylor has not been able to get in touch.
The experience has soured her outlook.
"It's very expensive here in Florida," she said. "And they don't pay all that well."
Her bank told her theycouldn't do anything and directed her to IC3.gov, the FBI's internet complaint center.
"The bank wasn't helpful," she said.
She filed a complaintwith theSheriff's Office, which is investigating.
The Sheriff's Office had no comment to the active investigation.
In 2017:Escaped con artist may return to old scamming grounds in Lee County
When she tried to reach out to Craigslist she said she could find no number but an 800 line which led to a recording and an email for the legal department. She sent anemail but says she has received no response.
Questions posted to a fraud and billing email for Craigslist produced no response.
"It's just sad," Logan said."I'm very frustrated and out of a lot of money."
Thankfully, she found another place to live and is workingat an area hospital.
Still, she remains shocked because she saw the same ad, plus another one for a Naples residencelinked toit, still on Craigslist.
"I don't have that kind of mind, but if I did, as soon as this would happen I would take my post down," she said. "For him not to, that's just crazy ... it's like he's not scared or he knows he can't be found or maybe he's overseas."
And surprisingly,responses to online queries about the availability of the unit are still being answered:
"Yes it’s available but I won’t be able to meet you in person due to the COVID-19 situation. But the pics you’ve seen are the exact representation of my place and I’ve also made arrangements on how keys would be mailed once all documentations and payment has been completed. Let me know if you wish to proceed. Thanks"
No name or contact info is listed, and follow up questions asking if the unit could be seen beforehand are answered with a terse "no". There was no response to a question about payment methods.
Connect with breaking news reporter Michael Braun:MichaelBraunNP (Facebook),@MichaelBraunNP (Twitter) or mbraun@news-press.com.
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CraigsList does have a list of suggestions to avoid being scammed:
- Deal locally, face-to-face—follow this one rule and avoid 99% of scam attempts.
- Do notprovide payment to anyone you have not met in person.
- Beware offers involving shipping -deal with locals you can meet in person.
- Never wire funds (e.g. Western Union)- anyone who asks you to is a scammer.
- Don't accept cashier/certified checks or money orders- banks cash fakes, then hold you responsible.
- Transactions are between users only, no third party provides a "guarantee".
- Never give out financial info(bank account, Social Security, paypal account, etc).
- Do not rent or purchase sight-unseen—that amazing "deal" may not exist.
- Refuse background/credit checksuntil you have met landlord/employer in person.
- "craigslist voicemails"- Any message asking you to access or check "craigslist voicemails" or "craigslist voice messages" is fraudulent -no such service exists.
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