Town of Benson issued the following announcement on Feb. 18.
An attempted rental scam in the Benson area was recently brought to our attention.
In this instance, scammers appear to be impersonating property management companies and asking for higher than normal application fees. In some cases, scammers are contacting potential renters and requesting fees to be paid through CashApp or similar online services.
A property management company out of Fayetteville alerted us to this “fake fee” activity today that targeted one of their properties in Coats Circle. Luckily, the potential renter thought the fee was usually high and alerted management.
Please remember, if you’re not dealing with someone directly and something seems odd or you are requested to send money in a nontraditional fashion (like gift cards or some form of online payment that isn’t explicitly accepted by the company or property owner) — STOP communications and call the company or property owner to ensure you have been contacted by a legitimate representative.
Original source can be found here.
