From the Forum – Rental application identity theft concern – what can we do?

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Rental application identity theft concern – what can we do?

“Filled out a rental application with a lot of PII, then owner says they “went with another applicant.” The timing makes everything seem very fishy and now we’re concerned with identity theft. Is there anything we can/should be doing? More information below:

Found a rental on craiglist and met with the owner last week. We indicated that we wanted to take the place and they agreed to stop showing it to other people. The following day they sent along the rental application and the lease. We asked if we could provide pay stubs, our current landlord’s reference, and bank account statements in lieu of the full application. They did not respond for three days. We called on Saturday to ask what was going on and they indicated that we should fill out the full application and things could move forward. Sent the application this morning (Monday) and immediately received an email saying they “went with another applicant.” SO called them this afternoon, but the call was sent to voice mail.

We had a walk through of the unit, we verified their employment, and did other bits of Google stalking that led us to believe they were legitimate. Our take home pay is over 400% of the monthly rent, we have no debt, and we have a good relationship with our current landlord, so we can’t imagine they’d have a problem with the application. Can the Office of the Tenant Advocate help? Should we file a police report? Would love any advice.”

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