Beware! Don’t Fall Victim to this Popular Home Rental Scam

With the housing market absolutely skyrocketing, and rental prices following suit, there’s one trend that we’ve been seeing more and more frequently in the Treasure Valley: home rental scams. 

Not only are affordable rentals hard to find these days, but the competition for the available listings is outrageous. 

The pressure to find: 1) a decent home, 2) that’s not too expensive, 3) in a desirable part of town is making people desperate… and unfortunately, that opens the door to slimy people who want to take advantage of that desperation. 

Mike Mavey was recently a victim to one of these scams in the Caldwell/Middleton area of the Treasure Valley. 

In retrospect, Mavey was able to acknowledge that there were clear red flags within the situation that should have tipped him off sooner, but in many ways, it wasn’t so obvious.

He was in contact with what he thought were the owners of the home, and they were promptly messaging him back. They even gave him the code to the lockbox on the front door, and he was able to walk through the home for a showing. 

According to Mavey, because of this, it didn’t even cross his mind that it could’ve been a scam. It wasn’t until after he had already filled out an official-looking online application, with lots of his personal and sensitive information, that he realized that something was wrong. 

He hoped to share his story so that others may avoid the same heartache and deception, by providing many of the warning signs that he failed to notice until it was too late: