Helping a family after a $2,300 rent scam...

A young man we know and his family - closes friend of close friends - were recently scammed out of $2,300 for a rental property in Durham. I've seen the documentation (bogus lease, bogus receipts for deposit + first + last month's rent, bogus phone numbers, etc.) and contacted the NC Attorney General's office and the director of a law clinic that specializes in this sort of situation. Both were helpful but the family is nervous about their names being shared out of fear that if the bad actor hears about it, he and his accomplices may do something worse. Without being able to use names, neither the AG's office nor the clinic can pursue this directly for the family (though I still hope they'll be able to "flag" the property, ad, etc. to keep others from the scam).

The family lives in a 2-bedroom with 6 people and were excited to move into a better place. They've not been in the US for long (came as refugees) and don't have anyone to turn to for financial support. Other than the grandmother who has serious physical disabilities, they're all working - at fast food restaurants, cleaning a transportation facility, and at a poultry factory - and 3 are in high school. They didn't ask me to do anything but I told them that I might be able to help them get back some of the amount of money that they lost. (I also wanted to be sure they were ok with my trying.)

Thank you for contributing what you can. It would be meaningful to them and not only financially, if their Durham community (and beyond) - meaning all of us! - can help them recover from this scam and financial setback and show them that there are more good people around them than bad.