GASTONIA, N.C. — A mother of three is warning other families to be on alert after a thief scammed her out of nearly $1,000 through a mobile payment app.
Yuki Miller said she found what she thought was a Facebook advertisement for the perfect rental home.
"This person was like, 'There's so many people here that really want this because of the price,'" Miller said.
She put down a $950 deposit and sent it through the Zelle mobile app, which is akin to PayPal and Venmo.
She said her family never got keys to the rental home.
"It's just a sad world out there that people will scam a family," Miller said. "Even if I expressed how desperate I was, and they took advantage of that."
Gastonia Police is investigating the case. Department spokeswoman Donna Lahser said as tech innovation accelerates, thieves have been keeping up.
"There are people who are really slick, and they can make it look exactly like someone else's [account]," Lahser said. "Sometimes you just have to walk from that and go to a website and check it out."
The department recommends checking out businesses on the Federal Trade Commission's website.
Zelle recommends verifying a person's contact information before sending them money. Miller said Zelle is working with her in hopes of recovering her money, but she said she's mortified.
"I never thought it'd happen to me at all. I've always been a cautious person, and it happened," Miller said. "I don't want that ever happening again."
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