A local couple says they lost thousands in a real estate scheme.
Kimberly Duncan and her husband were looking for a new place to live. They sent a deposit and signed a lease, but their money vanished, she said.
“Money don’t come easy,” Duncan said. “And for this to happen to anyone, its something that mentally you don’t want to go through.”
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Duncan and her husband were looking for a home to rent on multiple websites.
They found a listing for a three-bedroom, two-bath in East Orange County on Homes.com.
“It looks legit. Everything in it looks legit,” Duncan said.
Duncan reached out to the listing agent, Nicolas Barbara, and got a text message with a picture of a business card with a photo on it, she said.
“You made an inquiry on my listing, and I decided to reach out,” the text read.
“Yes, I did. I’m interested in that property,” Duncan replied.
That started a chain of text messages between the two.
“We never met him, just talked on the phone and texting and emails,” Duncan said.
They even made an appointment via text message to see the property, but 30 minutes before the meeting Duncan got another text.
The realtor said something came up, but he can give access to view the home, with a lockbox code.
“We got the keys, opened the house, went through it...and texted back and forth,” Duncan said.
They liked the house and wanted to move forward and let the realtor know, according to Duncan.
She was emailed an application and then later received an approval letter.
Over the course of a couple of days, she got a contract, and a text message saying the owner required first month’s rent, last month’s rent and a security deposit, Duncan said.
Next, she got instructions on how to wire the money, which she did.
$6,900 wired and $200 for an application fee, according to receipts provided to News 6.
A total of $7,100.
She soon realized she had been ripped off.
“There was always a different answer about when I would get the money back,” Duncan said.
Jamie Krygowski is assistant to the special agent in charge with the U.S Secret Service Orlando field office.
“With rental prices going up high, it’s increased dramatically,” Krygowski said, speaking of real estate schemes.
Remember that listing agent, Nicolas Barbara?
News 6 did a license look up and found there is a Nicolas Barbara who is a licensed realtor and broker in Florida.
News 6 tracked down someone who claims to be Nicolas Barbara. We sent him a picture of the business card, and he says the person in the picture on the card is not him.
The crooks likely hijacked the listing and kept the license number and inserted their contact info, Krygowski said.
So Duncan was never talking to the real listing agent.
“With today’s technology it’s easy to do anything electronically,” Krygowski said.
“If you cannot meet the person, please just walk away. It’s not worth it. It’s really not,” Duncan said.
That’s the Secret Service’s advice too.
If a realtor won’t meet you in person – walk away.
And when you’re sending a wire transfer, verify who the person is you’re sending money to.
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