The Winder Police Department is the latest Northeast Georgia law enforcement agency to report scams involving home rentals in their jurisdiction.
In a social media post this week, Winder police officials said they've received one to two calls per week recently from residents about fake home rental scams.
"With the springtime rental season upon us, scammers have been getting more sophisticated, finding a home for sale and copying all the photos to websites," officials said.
Police say there are several steps potential renters should take to ensure they don't fall victim to a scam including verifying the property owner's identity and attempting to contact them directly, checking for duplicate listings and visiting the property in-person and trying to meet with an owner or land-lord face-to-face.
Authorities also said you should never agree to payment before signing a lease.
Winder is not the only local agency to report such scams, as the Hall County Sheriff's Office and Gainesville Police Department have also reported false rental scams within the past year.
