CROSSVILLE RESIDENT FALLS VICTIM TO $475 RENTAL SCAM VIA FAKE FACEBOOK LISTING
On February 18, 2026, a resident contacted the Crossville Police Department in Tennessee to report being victimized in a wire fraud scheme tied to a fraudulent apartment rental listing at Center Town Drive. The victim first reached out via Facebook Messenger to someone using the name Joseph Lee Powell about the rental.
The scammer, posing as the property owner, followed up by text from a phone number ending in 4 and directed the victim to send $75 through Chime as a supposedly refundable fee to schedule a viewing. After that payment, the victim—who was already in the area—was told an additional $400 refundable security deposit was required to hold the unit, for a total of $475 transferred.
Once the funds were sent, the individual demanded first month’s rent of $750 before any in-person viewing would be allowed and refused to refund the earlier payments when the victim insisted on seeing the property first. The legitimate owners of the property were informed of the incident by the police chief. The perpetrator remains unidentified beyond the fake Facebook profile, the phone number, and the Chime account.
The victim had taken the precaution of moving funds from a primary bank account into a separate Chime account created specifically for this transaction before sending the money and was advised to contact their financial institution for possible recovery steps.
This follows a common rental scam pattern in which fraudsters impersonate landlords or property managers to collect upfront fees for properties that are either nonexistent, already rented, or not available for viewing.
