SCOTTSDALE (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 A Valley woman says she was caught in the middle of an elaborate scam, nearly paying more than $1,000 as a security deposit to someone she believed was a real estate agent to rent a home in Scottsdale. It turned out the home was never for rent.<\/p>\n
Renting a home is already stressful \u2014 finding a property, filling out applications, getting approved and providing personal information. In this case, instead of dealing with a verified seller, a scammer gained access to nearly all of her personal information.<\/p>\n
It all came down to the details for Alexis Bogiatzis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work from home. I just want more space,\u201d Bogiatzis said. \u201cIt would be nice to just have at least maybe one extra closet or one extra bedroom. Yeah, a house, a townhouse is really kind of what I\u2019m looking for right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
With that checklist, Bogiatzis began searching for her next rental. But focusing too closely on details meant she missed the bigger picture.<\/p>\n
After scouring the internet, Bogiatzis said she found a three-bedroom, two-bath home in Scottsdale listed for rent on Realtor.com. Fully renovated, it seemed almost too good to be true.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found this really nice property over in Scottsdale that was listed and I was super excited about it,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was $2,300 a month. I clicked the link on there to request more information and to tour the property.\u201d<\/p>\n
The following day she received a text from someone identifying himself as Frederick.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt said we see you\u2019re interested in the property, would you like to move forward, basically?\u201d Bogiatzis said.<\/p>\n
A few days later, she showed up for a scheduled tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had pulled up to the property. I called him. I said, I\u2019m here. I don\u2019t have a code. Also, I still see a for-sale sign on the property,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The sign showed the home was for sale by Opendoor, but Bogiatzis believed she was there to rent it. After multiple attempts, she eventually received a code and went inside.<\/p>\n
The next day she completed an application.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I had to give my address. I had to give my Social Security number,\u201d Bogiatzis said. \u201cI had to give a pay stub with all of my information, where I work, how much I make, lots of information there. I had to give a W-2 form.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frederick later told her she was approved and asked for a security deposit.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted me to Zelle him the security deposit,\u201d Bogiatzis said.<\/p>\n
Her bank immediately blocked the transaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then he switched it over to Venmo and luckily Venmo blocked both payments. And an error actually came up on Venmo that said, \u2018this is a scam,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Frederick also sent her a photo of what he claimed was an Arizona driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n
The for-sale sign by Opendoor was legitimate. The home is listed online for sale at $750,000.<\/p>\n
We reached out to Opendoor asking who Frederick is. The company sent a statement saying it takes fraud seriously and does not rent homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be clear: Opendoor does not rent homes. The property is listed exclusively for sale, and our employees never request payment via Zelle, Venmo or other peer-to-peer apps,\u201d the statement said. \u201cOpendoor homes are clearly marked as not for rent, and we maintain dedicated teams focused on detecting, investigating and reporting fraud. Bad actors sometimes copy legitimate for-sale listings from sites like Realtor.com or Zillow and falsely represent themselves as owners or agents offering rentals. Frederick Cooley has no affiliation with Opendoor. We take a zero-tolerance approach to fraud; we investigate every report immediately and work with the necessary parties to report it. We also encourage anyone who encounters this type of outreach to stop communication immediately and report it to both the platform where they saw the listing and local authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVenmo\u2019s telling me it\u2019s a scam. Zelle\u2019s telling me it\u2019s a scam. It\u2019s right in my face that it\u2019s a scam,\u201d Bogiatzis said.<\/p>\n
We also reached out directly to Frederick, requesting an application to rent. After receiving one, we followed up using his phone number, identifying ourselves as Arizona\u2019s Family.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd after doing some digging, I talked to Opendoor. And Opendoor says they have no idea who you are. This home is for sale and not for rent. So I\u2019m trying to ask you the question: how are you getting people inside this home?\u201d we asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrederick, are you asking people to pay a security deposit through Zelle and Venmo?\u201d we asked.<\/p>\n
Frederick responded, \u201cNO I WAS NOT ASKING PEOPLE TO PAY A SECURITY DEPOSIT THROUGH ZELLE OR VENMO.\u201d He then hung up and blocked the number.<\/p>\n
Susan Tollakson, who lives next door, said the previous owners had to move abruptly and sold the home to Opendoor.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, really nice young couple. Just had a new baby. Just real sweet couple,\u201d Tollakson said.<\/p>\n
She said over the past few weeks dozens of people have shown up trying to get inside the home, confused by the for-sale sign.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I just feel bad for anybody that got scammed by that guy. That\u2019s terrible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Bogiatzis is now back on her couch, still searching for a rental \u2014 but with a new perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not work with someone who claims to be a private landlord working for a private homeowner,\u201d she said. \u201cIt really is something I\u2019ll look at now.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking for a home, Scottsdale real estate agent Zack Heene said rental scams are becoming more common and more sophisticated.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust, it\u2019s almost like your gut feeling. The best thing is to meet the person. If you don\u2019t ever meet the person, it\u2019s going to be, who knows if it\u2019s legit. If you meet the person, at least you\u2019ll be able to talk to them and go through steps,\u201d Heene said. \u201cIf it feels too good to be true, it probably is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bogiatzis filed a police report with Scottsdale police. The case is under investigation.<\/p>\n
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n