Vicky Nguyen

They're definitely smart.

These scammers know how to find markets that are profitable for them.

And when they rip off a bunch of people at the tune of $200, $300 each and disappear...

I mean, there's a lot of fish in the sea, especially because we know that the rental market is on fire right now.

So this is happening coast to coast, according to FBI data in small towns, big cities, anywhere where someone can set up a social media account.

repost someone else's videos.

And in some cases, Andrea, they're even posing as the realtor themselves.

We spoke to a realtor who's getting hate messages and threatening messages, accusing him of scamming people when it's just his own identity that's been stolen.

And other people are posing as him and creating accounts as this realtor.

Totally.

So you want to make sure that when you are looking for an apartment or a rental home, you slow down just a little bit.

You've done your research.

So you know what the going market rate is.

And if you're looking at an ad and the rent is just so much lower than the market rate, steer clear.

And then if you are going to contact someone, look them up separately.

Don't just call the number or the email that is in the listing itself.

Look up that person, find their actual real estate website, and contact them that way because that way you'll know you're talking to the real representative for that property.

And try your best not to send money sight unseen.

By the way, you should know in a city like New York,

The maximum that anyone can charge you for a rental application is actually $20.