Houston man rents new home, discovers he's victim of growing scam affecting millions

Houston man scammed trying to rent house

A Houston man makes himself at home only to discover he's the victim of a growing scam affecting millions of consumers across the United States. FOX 26's Randy Wallace reports on the rental scam from Channelview so it doesn't happen to you.

HOUSTON - The house in Channelview with three bedrooms and two full baths was exactly what Adolph Ledesma was looking for.

"Everybody was excited to move into the house," he said. "My grandkids had already come over just loving the house we were moving in already,"

Ledesma first spotted the house for rent on Facebook Marketplace.

The man claiming to be the owner said he was a truck driver on the road.

When Ledesma asked about the Open Door for sale sign the supposed owner said he decided to rent instead.

"I took a picture of it to let him know I was there in front of the house and I asked him to send me a copy of his ID," said Ledesma.

The name on the driver's license is Raymond Stevie Harris.

Neighbors tell us this man who lives in North Carolina doesn't own the house.

We have no idea if this guy is who Ledesma was communicating with.

So, how did Adolph get inside the house?

"He told me to download an Opendoor app, but the code didn't work," Adolph said. "Then he said the door in the back was unlocked I got access to the inside of the house he gave me authorization to change all the locks so that's what I did."

During his second day in the house, Ledesma's son removed the security camera in the living room. The next thing he knew a security company and sheriff's deputies were knocking on the door,

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Adolph says he learned others have fallen victim.

One victim lost more than $2,000. Adolph lost $450.

"I'm the lucky one who didn't send him all the money," he said.

Click here to find more tips from Opendoor on how to avoid and prevent becoming a victim of rental scams.