Wow, that apartment for rent is cheap – scam alert!

Because of a complaint from a resident of Chippewa County, who observed an apartment for rent on social media, Sheriff Travis Hakes is calling the public’s attention to scam risks of that sort.

“The individual did some due diligence and was skeptical of the situation,” said Hakes.

Afterward, the concerned party contacted Hakes, who investigated the matter further and determined that the person offering the reduced rate on the apartment, did not legally own the building. In this case, the suspect requested money be sent to an out-of-state account.

“The reporting party in this particular matter was keen enough to not send money, before speaking with me about it,” said Hakes. “I spoke with the property owner, who advised it was currently empty, as they recently acquired the property. I would suspect that the scam artists are obtaining rental transfer of title information and using those properties in their social media scams.”

This comes at a time, when other areas of the state, are having similar incidents.

“Fraud, in general, is real, it happens daily, here in Chippewa County,” said Hakes.

Property fraud is less frequent, but can happen. If someone discovers a home sale or rental that seems odd, they can call the Register of Deeds, to identify the legal owner.

“Anyone attempting to commit fraud on our citizens in Chippewa County, can have FREE lodging, at 50 E Spruce St., Chippewa Falls, WI 54729,” said Hakes. “You will not have to send money to my account, but they may want someone to put money on their account for bail.”