Description

My son heard from a friend about an apartment for rent. He contacted the individual. The individual sent him a renters agreement and asked for $300 to hold the apartment. I paid that person. Then the person said that he needed the first month’s rent as well. So I paid that as well. I used Venmo. Then the person emailed me and said oh no, I gave you the wrong account on Venmo. Send it to this one instead. I knew at this time, that it was a scam and demanded to speak to him immediately. He did not respond after that.Of course, once a transaction on Venmo has happened there is no recourse and no way to get your money back. I called my bank but because it was a debit situation the money is gone and there’s no way to get it back. My bank said that you should never pay the first months rent until you actually see the apartment and decide to live there. Since I haven’t rented for 30 years, I was an easy target I guess. I just don’t want this to happen to anyone else.