Safety expert reveals red flags to look out for when renting a new home that act as signs you're being scammed

A crime reporter has revealed the subtle red flags you should look out for when renting a new home that may indicate you're being scammed. Lori Fullbright, a news anchor for Oklahoma's News on 6, has spent over 30 years studying crime and reporting on burglaries and fraud schemes.She has interviewed thousands of victims as well as hundreds of criminals and law enforcement officers, and over the course of her three-decade career, she has uncovered a slew of safety tips, which she often shares online through her TikTok account.Most recently, she posted a video explaining that people often fall for scams while looking for a new apartment or house to rent that results in them having no place to live and losing thousands of dollars.She detailed the various things that act as warning signs that the listing you're seeing may not be legit.'If you are looking to rent a property, an apartment or house, somewhere to live, there are all kinds of scammers out there,' she warned. 'I [knew] a woman once who was sitting in her house and a big ol' moving van shows up, people get out and start unloading furniture. 'She goes out and is like, "Hey, what's going on?" They go, "We just rented this house and we're moving in." She's like, "You didn't rent this house, I live in this house, I'm paying a mortgage on this house, it was never for rent." Lori Fullbright, a news anchor for Oklahoma's News on 6, has spent over 30 years studying crime and reporting on burglaries and fraud schemes'We see people who take photos and listings of houses that are for sale and post them on a fake website and say they're for rent.'She added: 'I [also knew] a woman who gave first and last months rent for a down payment and [the landlord] told her only had a key for the back door. 'She goes in only to find out the house is in foreclosure. He didn't own it, it was being sold for sheriff's auction. She was out her money plus she had no place to live. [The fake landlord] had kicked the back door, changed the back lock [and listed it online].'Fullbright explained that there are 'so many red flags' during the rental process that often get overlooked.She said the first thing that should alarm you is if a house or apartment seems like a really good deal.'If it's cheaper than every other place listed that's a big red flag,' the journalist said.Next, she explained that if the landlord is pressuring you to send the payment immediately, it could be a bad sign.'The second red flag is urgency, like if they say, "You've gotta send your money right now,"' she continued. She revealed the subtle red flags you should look out for when renting a new home that may indicate you're being scammed (stock image)She added that how the landlord wants you to send the money could also act as a red flag, explaining that you should never use payment apps like Zelle or use a Western Union money transfer. In addition, if they ask you to pay with cryptocurrency or gift cards, be wary. Next on Fullbright's list of red flags was if the landlord can't meet you in person to view the house.'If they can't physically go there, they need to have someone that they [know] walk through the property [with you],' she urged.'Because [scammers will] say, "I can rent it to you but I'm out of the country," or, "I've had a surgery so I can't get there to meet you in person but everything's fine. Go ahead and send me all this money up front." Big red flag.'She also said it's important not to just 'look at the outside of the property,' but to 'walk through it' with the landlord. In addition, the safety expert said you should never give out personal information like pay stubs to a prospective landlord until you're sure they're legit.'Real rental agencies will run your credit report, they don't need all that information from you,' she said. 'Be very wary about handing over that kind of personal information before you know this is a real transaction.'She suggested that anyone looking to rent a new home spend some time doing research on the rental agent. Fullbright, seen on the show with her co-anchor Craig Day, has interviewed thousands of victims as well as hundreds of criminals and law enforcement officers, and over the course of her three-decade career, she has uncovered a slew of safety tips'Pop it into an internet search with words like "scam" or "complaint" to see what other people are saying,' she recommended. 'If it's not a big conglomerate, if it's just one person renting a house, go to that county's website and see if that person is even really listed as an owner on that property, you can check that. 'Before you hand over your personal information, before you hand over your hard earned money to these people, you want to make sure you're actually renting a legitimate place and that's a tricky thing to do in this day and age. 'It's so important to take these steps, not to rush and feel like it's urgent or work off your emotion,' she concluded. 'Never think, "This is a great deal I have to have it right now." Take your time, and really do your research. Be safe out there.'