Jefferson County Sheriff's Office warns of scam targeting renters

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A warning to home renters in Jefferson County, scammers are targeting you.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said several people have come forward saying they were victims of rental scams.

In these cases, the scammers advertise homes they don't own or manage and collect weekly or monthly rent payments, often in cash, and then disappear.

When a similar scam circulated about 10 years ago, John Darr said he listed his New Albany home on the market in 2016 and scammers took advantage of that.

"Someone saw our realtor.com posting and took the photos, took my name and changed everything to make it look like I was trying to rent my whole house for $600 a month, which of course is a deal too good to be true," Darr said.

To Darr's knowledge, no one gave the scammer money, but the person who reached out to him to confirm the rental was very close to giving $1,800 as a deposit.

Now, 10 years later, it's still an issue.

"I feel very lucky that no one reached out to me asking me for their deposit back because they were using my name," Darr said.

The sheriff's office shared the following tips to help renters protect themselves:

Avoid paying rent in cash.
Don't move forward without a signed lease agreement.
Verify property ownership or management through public records or trusted sources.
Ask neighbors who owns or manages the property.
Be skeptical if it seems too good to be true.

If you believe you may be a victim of a rental scam or have seen suspicious rental activity online, immediately report it to law enforcement.

WDRB Mornings Mascot Bowl 19 promises chaos and crack ups

JCPS records show hundreds of arrests by district's police force in recent years

Trial begins for man accused of killing teen at Harvest Homecoming