Multiple Oklahoma Families Ripped Off In Facebook Rental Scheme

At least four people were ripped off by someone on Facebook who claimed to be renting out homes in Dale, Oklahoma.

Sophia Wooters contacted the person after seeing a listing for a four-bedroom house in a local buy, sell, trade Facebook group in late June. The person told it her the house in the 200 block of Oklahoma Street was hers to rent if she put down $700, KFOR reported.

The rental process gave Wooters a bad feeling because there was no paperwork or contracts to sign. The seller even asked her to write her own receipt.

She went ahead with the agreement and paid $800 for her first month's rent. When Wooters was doing yard work at the house before moving in on August 1 Rachel Hankins and her family showed up and claimed they were supposed to move in.

Hankins said she also paid a down payment to the seller.

Both women tried to contact the seller to figure out what was going on but he isn't responding to their calls.

“I’m mad and I’m upset, and I’m stressed. We work hard for our money, for what we make, and we gave him everything that we had," Hankins told the TV station.

Another man currently lives in the home, and he said he signed paperwork with the seller.

Wooters and Hankins said they also knew of two other people who fell for the same rental scam. They have since contacted local law enforcement to find the person who ripped them off.