Consumer complaint received 2025-03-06 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Confusing or missing disclosures — 
Company: Early Warning Services, LLC
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
Subject : Fraudulent Transaction Report Scam via Zelle I am writing to report a fraudulent incident involving a scam that occurred on XX/XX/year>. 

I was scammed out of {$1800.00} using Zelle ( under the guise it was protected by my XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) by an individual named XXXX XXXX, who is owner of XXXX XXXX XXXX, property located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 

XXXX advertised his guest house through a XXXX ad ID XXXX originally for {$1800.00} and has now created a new ad for {$1800.00} trying to scam other people. Here is a detailed account of the events : Initial Interaction : On XX/XX/year>, I visited a guest house in XXXX XXXX XXXX, owned by XXXX XXXX. The property was listed on XXXX for {$1800.00} per month. During the walk-through, I declined the property due to several issues, including visible black mold in the bathtub and carpets, filthy conditions, and no air conditioning or heating. After I declined, XXXX offered to clean the house, provide a leftover air conditioning unit from the previous tenant, and include all utilities for the same rent price of {$1800.00}. He also agreed to let me remove some of the furniture and curtains that I didnt need. My friend was a witness to these discussions. The curtain were dirty and in poor condition. I did not want to hurt his feelings so asked if I could put more of a feminine touch and buy new ones. XXXX happily obliged. 

Zelle Payment and Lease Agreement : XXXX then asked for a Zelle transfer of {$1800.00} as a deposit to hold the property, promising that I would receive the key and sign the lease on XX/XX/year>. At this point, he assured me the deposit would be refunded if the deal fell through. 

Issues with Internet and Communication : When I inquired about the Wi-Fi password before signing the lease, XXXX became defensive and refused to provide it. He then broke our verbal agreement. XXXX agreed to return the {$1800.00} deposit. When I insisted on the return of my deposit, XXXX became verbally abusive. I called the XXXX XXXX police, and XXXX XXXX arrived on the scene. XXXX gave me a check for {$1700.00} not the full {$1800.00}. The XXXX stayed to be witness as I immediately deposited the check via mobile deposit to the same XXXX XXXX account used with Zelle. XXXX hours later, XXXX reversed the {$1700.00} check, leaving me with no refund for the {$1800.00} deposit I initially sent via Zelle. 

XXXX intentionally scammed me with the false promises of a clean property, returned deposit, and a false check. I have text messages of XXXX promising to refund me the money, another fail attempt for a refund through zelle for {$1700.00} ( not the full {$1800.00} ) all documented in photos. I called XXXX XXXX and his Zelle account was deactivated due to fraud and is unable to send out payments. I have proof of that in the documents attached through a screenshot of his Zelle payments not going through. 

I am requesting that Zelle return my money to my XXXX XXXX account and take appropriate action to prevent others from being scammed in the future by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

Attached is the reverse payment check and the incident police number, the zelle transactions and the zelle complaint response email. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation