The owner of a Sycamore-based real estate firm said Tuesday that pictures of a home his brokerage is under contract for were used in an attempted scam.

Judah Sameth, the designated managing broker and owner of Willow Real Estate in Sycamore, began warning the public on social media after a recent experience.

He said Willow Real Estate was recently contacted by someone who had been told by a man not associated with the firm to pay him to see inside the home located at 338 Terrace Drive in Sycamore, where he hoped to rent. When that person drove by the property, he saw Willow Real Estate’s for sale sign, and called the company, Sameth said.

“I’m pretty sure he didn’t pay because he checked us beforehand,” Sameth said. “This happens all the time.”

Scams akin to what Sameth thinks he helped curtail often involve a request for an application fee before a potential purchaser or renter can see a property. After the victims pay the so-called application fee, the scammers may stop communicating with them. That also happens if the would-be victims drive by the property and discover a licensed company has the rights to sell or lease the property, not the person they were talking to.

Pictures of the homes used in those scams are often pulled from real estate listings, enhancing the believability of a post.

Rental listing scams unfold in a few different ways, the Federal Trade Commission warns on its website.

“Scammers can steal legitimate rental listings for real places and pretend to be the landlord,” the agency advises. “Sometimes scammers use social media groups to post made-up listings for places that aren’t actually available to rent – and sometimes for places that don’t even exist."

However it unfolds, scammers will often rush would-be renters or buyers into paying an application fee, deposit and sometimes even first month’s rent, the Federal Trade Commission said.

Since 2020, people have reported nearly 65,000 rental scams to the FTC with about $65 million in losses.

Sameth, who’s had people tell him they’ve been scammed out of their last dollars through tears, said these sorts of scams happen often enough that all of the agents working at Willow Real Estate have become trained on how to help people who’ve been scammed out of their money.

Being asked for cash up front is among the telltale signs of a real estate or rental scam, Sameth said, noting there’s no cost for a firm until a background check needs to be run.

The Sycamore home used in the attempted scam was listed for sale by Jocelyn Kerber of Willow Real Estate for $245,000.

“It’s a real problem,” Kerber said of the scams surrounding the housing industry.

Tips to avoid getting scammed

1. Search online for the rental’s address, plus the name of the property owner or rental company listed. See what else comes up. If other ads with a different owner or rental company name appear, those are signs of a scam.
2. Look up the rental company’s website to see if the property is listed there, too. If it isn’t, the listing is likely a scam.
3. Pay by credit card. Scammers want you to pay in ways that make it hard to get your money back – like with gift cards or payment apps like Apple Pay, CashApp, PayPal and Zelle.
4. Don’t pay for a property you’ve never seen, and never pay someone you’ve never met in person.

Source: Federal Trade Commission