Beware of apartment, house hunting scams

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KVIA) -- House hunting has evolved with tech-savvy tools like Zillow and Apartments.com, but for one Las Cruces family, this type of website cost them more than $1,000.

At the beginning of the family's search for a new home, they wanted an apartment in a safe neighborhood quickly. The thought of predatory scammers didn't cross their minds.

The family found a listing that appeared legitimate led to a costly, dangerous trap.

ABC-7 spoke with the family about how they were scammed while apartment hunting.

Marie Ontiveros, the main victim of the scam, said, "Usually when you're renting an apartment, they're not going to yell at you."

These behaviors and some key red flags were what made the Ontiveros start raising eyebrows.

They told ABC-7 that the 'landlord' asked for a $300 "key fee" and another $100 "administrative fee" Ontiveros and her mother have both never heard of a "key fee."

She also said that the scammers were calling from a New Jersey area code and when you search up the phone number it says potential scam.

Dan Trujillo from the Las Cruces Police Department said, "If anyone wants to do anything only online or if a landlord says they are out of town, that's a red flag right away. If they never want to meet in person with you, that's a huge red flag."

It's important to always check out properties and landlords in person.

Luckily for Ontiveros, she was able to find accommodations for the next few weeks until she moves into her legitimate apartment.

Watch the full report on Ontiveros' experience, "Ghost Listing," Thursday on ABC-7 at 6.