If you would like to help Madison and Sam Harrison, Email YourStories@kfmb.com.
SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) – A young military couple transferring from overseas was scammed out of $3,000 when they tried to find a new home.
Madison and Sam Harrison spent several years in Japan but were recently relocated to San Diego. During their relocation process they found a Craigslist ad for an one bedroom apartment in a Hillcrest complex for just $1,500 a month.
That ad turned out to be a scam.
The Harrisons had done their due diligence, though. The man in the ad, Charles Damon, said he worked with F&F Property Management. The couple said they verified that F&F Property Management was reputable company.
When Charles sent Madison and Sam an email saying the landlord wanted to rent the property to other people unless they sent more money right away, they became suspicious. Their instincts were right.
As it turned out, the apartment in the ad was not vacant. In fact, the whole complex is full, and F&F said if there was a vacancy, it would be for more than $1,500 a month.
News 8 did research and discovered the fake ad had been posted again on Wednesday.
Madison and Sam said Charles has not returned their emails or calls. They are now out of $3,000 and no place to live. The couple hopes that by sharing their story, others will not fall for the same trick.
News 8 tried to contact Charles Damon, but all calls went to voicemail. Upon further investigation, News 8 discovered more complaints from other renters who claimed he was running a similar scam in Los Angeles.
