Apartment Hunting? Watch for Scammers

A Collingswood woman who thought she was corresponding with a property landlord in Philadelphia apparently forked over more than $700 before she realized she'd been scammed.

Collingswood police said the woman responded to an ad on OLX.com for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, single-family home on Marshall Street in Philadelphia on June 24.

She received a text message from a man who identified himself as Rev. Robinson Hanks. Over the course of the next several days, the man e-mailed her photographs of the property, and she agreed to lease it from him.

Police say the man told her she would receive the keys to the property after she wired $682 to a go-between in Florida. The victim bought a $50 moneygram at Wal-Mart and sent the cash.

When she did not receive the keys to the address, she went to the residence in question to investigate, and discovered it was a multiple-family dwelling, both units of which were occupied.

Police attempted to investigate the incident via the phone number the victim provided, but believe it has been disconnected.