Bowling Green Police Division is investigating two cases of fraud involving apartment rentals.
Two people reported to police that they leased an apartment at 228 S. College Drive – only to find the site was still under construction.
A woman said she thought she had subleased the apartment online for her son from the current tenant. She used her credit card to pay the $550 deposit. She had been communicating with the tenant and leasing office over the phone, and viewed the tenant’s Facebook page, which seemed normal. Neither the tenant nor the leasing office seemed suspicious, she said.
The woman told police she was to meet the tenant at the apartment on Saturday morning, but no one showed up, and it appeared the apartment was still under construction. She then contacted staff at the leasing office, who said they had no idea what she was talking about.
The woman then looked up the tenant’s Facebook page again, and it was gone. She realized she had been scammed.
Also on Saturday, a man came to the police station to report he had filled out a lease application for an apartment at the same address. He had paid a $550 deposit, and had been in phone contact with Seaway Assets LLC and had been texting the alleged resident of the apartment.
The man was told he could pick up the apartment keys on Saturday. However, when the man tried to contact the tenant and rental company, the number was no longer in service.
