Scammers try to pass off foreclosed homes as rentals

Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 at 4:30 a.m. Last Modified: Monday, February 17, 2014 at 7:57 p.m.

My daughter, she was running around here. She was in love with the place, he said. We were ready to move in.

It was listed on Trulia.com for $800 a month, but it was too good to be true. The property, at 935 Fruitland Road, fell into foreclosure in December. It's up for bid, but it was never up for rent. And the guy who claimed to own it wasn't transferred to Nigeria for missionary work like he said.

The rental listing was a scam, a newer version of one that has ensnared victims across the nation since the early 1980s. It was a first for the Henderson County Sheriff's Office.

This is kind of a new one here, said Chief Deputy Frank Stout, but he added that it falls in line with other scams they've seen affecting the area recently. Officers are is encouraging people to be extra careful and suspicious of any dealings with unknown individuals who ask for money to be wired out of the United States and to Africa, especially.

Anytime that anybody is trying to get you to wire money ahead without a contract, do not do it, Stout said. If they say they are from Nigeria, he added, run, run, run the other way.

Savage started to see red flags right away. The owner, who went by the name of Sheldon Hopkins, wanted to text more than talk and when Savage did get him on the phone, the guy had a thick accent. Savage said the owner couldn't show him the house because he was transferred to Nigeria for three to six years for mission work, but was anxious to move someone in who would take care of the property.

The first thing he asked was 'when can you move in?' said Savage's wife, Lily Carpenter.

He didn't want background about us, Savage said. He was just ready to mail us the keys. He was ready to rent it.

He said Hopkins offered to mail him the keys and rental agreement paperwork as soon as he received an $800 deposit, which he asked to be wired to him in Lagos, Nigeria via Western Union. Huge red flag.

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Scammers try to pass off foreclosed homes as rentals