CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A family fell victim to a rental scam and was forced to move out without getting its money back.
"I have to start all the way over, all the way,” Shannon Carias said. “I've lost everything."
The family signed a lease in March, believing it got a good deal with the rent at $900 a month for a three-bedroom house with the proviso they help renovate it.
"If I helped him, he would help me and I believed him," Carias said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers tried to help Carias, her three children ages 4-14 years, and her boyfriend Christopher Pittman.
"We made a lot of phone calls and were unable to find a lot of organizations that were able to help them," CMPD Officer Curtis Bowers said.
He had no luck in finding assistance.
Bowers and his partner got them a motel for a week but the family already had a moving truck and decided to start over in Florida.
"It's frustrating that they had to make the decision to move back," Bowers said.
Police said fake real estate agents are common in fraud activity and the only way to protect yourself is to do your homework and don't believe that people are who they say they are.
They said tenants should find out if the real estate agents are legitimate and if they have a license.
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