Summertime in a college town brings an annual game of musical chairs with housing contracts.
Many students leave for a summer internship; others leave for much-needed time with family. Some stay in the area but change apartments with new friends or their newlywed spouse.
No matter their reason, these students all have one thing in common: They must sell their existing lease quickly or be forced to pay double rent on an already tight college budget. This desperation makes them easy prey for online scammers.
For students like Bradley Kakazu, Isaac Wright and Giulia Tesoriere, being wary of scammers can be challenging.
“We have been seeing a lot of these scams lately,” said Detective Sgt. Nick Patterson of the Provo Police Department.
Online housing swindles are on the rise, and as some students in Utah are learning, falling prey to the scams can be devastating.
The link between fraud and Facebook groups
Brigham Young University student Bradley Kakazu posted his Provo lease on Facebook, hoping to sell it before his wedding this summer.
Not long after, a potential buyer reached out to him, extremely eager to complete the transfer.
“They wanted to buy my contract more than I wanted to sell it,” Kakazu told the Deseret News. “He was rushing me, but since I was so eager to sell it, it kind of blew by me.”
On a phone call later that day, the buyer asked for money to cover a new tenant transfer fee, and said they would take over the lease as soon as the funds were received.
While Kakazu was talking with the buyer on speakerphone, his friend, Noah Wutkee, walked next to him and said, “Hey, I recognize that voice.”
Kakazu put himself on mute.
Wutkee told Kakazu the man on the phone was a scammer. “He said the exact same story to me. It’s the same exact phone number and the same exact voice,” Wutkee said.
Wutkee explained that the scammers had called, requested an Apple Pay transaction to cover transfer fees, then blocked him after the money was sent.
Kakazu unmuted himself and told the scammer he wouldn’t sell the contract unless the buyer paid him first.
“I was trying to have him send money first to see, and obviously he wasn’t willing to do so,” Kakazu said. “That’s when he kind of backpedaled and then put his tail between his legs like a dog and scurried off.”
After this encounter, Kakazu noticed things that should have caught his eye earlier.
“I looked at the profile once he blocked me, and I could tell that it was a scammer because the image was blurry, he had like 7,000 friends, and it was just fishy,” he said. But Kakazu’s need to sell his lease masked his ability to spot these signs sooner.
“I think I was just so eager to sell it because it’s just draining my pockets,” he said. “Because I was so desperate to sell, I kind of just ignored all the red flags.”
Kakazu has noticed an uptick in scam activity as the summer begins.
“They’re pretty active in spring ... because that’s when most people try and sell their contracts.”
Fortunately, Kakazu realized the scam before he lost anything. Some aren’t so lucky.
Red flags can quickly become repercussions
Isaac Wright, a student at BYU, also posted a listing for his apartment lease on Facebook, hoping someone would take his contract for the summer. Not long after, someone reached out saying she was looking for an apartment for her brother and asked for Wright’s phone number so they could continue the conversation.
Looking back, he realized that was the first red flag. “Now I know I should probably keep it on Facebook and not just give out my number,” Wright told the Deseret News.
As Wright continued the conversation, this time with the alleged brother, other suspicious signs followed, such as an unexplained sense of urgency.
“He was kind of trying to rush it,” Wright said. “He said he needed to sign housing by that night or the next night to be able to keep a scholarship.”
Wright, eager to sell his contract, continued. When the buyer requested that Wright send him money to cover the application and transfer fee, around $100 in total, Wright agreed.
Once the money was sent, Wright never heard from the buyer again.
As he looked a little deeper, Wright noticed red flags he wished he would have caught sooner.
The Facebook account that had contacted him had posted in several online groups allegedly searching for a lease — one of which was in Florida.
Wright shared his experience online, warning others not to make his same mistakes. He quickly found many had the same regrets.
“Some of them texted me about reporting it to the Provo police and submitting this online report. So far, I don’t think anything has happened with those online reports,” Wright said. “The other people said that they haven’t heard anything since too.”
This isn’t the only time Wright has encountered scammers through buy-and-sell Facebook groups, and the persistent of these swindles has him on edge.
“It’s scary when the scammers come on; it gets you nervous,” he said.
Online scammers aren’t a one-and-done ordeal
Giulia Tesoriere has run into scammers, not once, not twice, but three times as she’s tried to navigate University of Utah housing.
Tesoriere moved to Salt Lake City a year ago and has used Facebook to buy and sell multiple contracts. As she’s crossed paths with scammers, she’s noticed a few consistent themes.
“I have to say, these scammers follow a very specific pattern. At first, everything seems completely legitimate. They say they’re interested in the room and start asking questions, just like anyone else would,” Tesoriere said.
After that, however, things tend to get suspicious.
Potential buyers refused to come see the apartment in person, ignored requests to video call, showed immediate desire to complete the transaction and started asking for personal information. Now, Tesoriere even becomes wary at seemingly small signs, like people who write without proper punctuation.
Tesoriere has been close to losing money or private information in these exchanges, but so far has always recognized the warning signs just in time. She said she will continue to use Facebook groups to buy and sell contracts, but with increased caution.
“Overall, it hasn’t affected my trust to the point that I don’t want to use the platform anymore. I still think it’s a valuable resource. However, I am always suspicious of the people that I talk to until I meet them in person,” she said.
Tesoriere, Wright and Kakazu are among many victims of online housing scams fueled by Facebook groups, and it looks like they won’t be the last.
Tips to avoid online housing scams
Patterson said the best way students can avoid scams is verifying the person’s information before sending money, even meeting in person when possible.
“We can trust that they are telling us the truth, but until I can verify it is the truth, I am skeptical,” Patterson said.
If students are sending money through Venmo, Patterson encourages them to toggle the “turn on for purchase” option. This will cover the cost of purchase if the item is never delivered or differs from its description. Though it adds a 3% fee to the transaction, it can save hundreds or even thousands in the event of a scam.
Detective Michael Ruff, a public information officer for the Salt Lake City Police Department, said, “Social media is a really easy place to get scammed, you know, using marketplace and things like that.”
If a scam takes place, he encourages victims to contact their local police department by calling a dispatch number or submitting an online report.
Unfortunately, it is difficult for police to track down scammers after the crime has been committed, given many suspects live out of the state and use fake phone numbers and emails. Spotting scammers early on is the most effective way to avoid negative consequences.
Ruff, like Patterson, said the best way to avoid getting scammed is to “do your due diligence” and verify contacts by meeting in person. And above all, use best judgment.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Ruff said.
BYU Off-Campus Housing and University of Utah Housing and Dining did not immediately respond to requests for comment.