RICHMOND HILL, Ga. (WSAV) - A woman and her family of eight have been evicted from a home just a few weeks before Christmas.
Susie Shipman is the caretaker of a big family, and she says she was just trying to find a place affordable and safe for her kids and grandkids. But in September, her world turned upside down when she says she was scammed out of the home on Parker Lane.
"It's not a game. It's not nothing to play with. You know, losing your home is not an easy thing," Shipman said.
She said she didn't realize it was a fraud until a representative from American Homes 4 Rent, the actual owner of the home, according to a police report, stopped by to check on the house.
Shipman was paying half the estimated rent price, close to $2,100. She says she got the code to the home from the scammer.
Hotel and commercial district coming to Heartwood Community of Richmond Hill
The Richmond Hill Police Department is still investigating this incident, and an officer tells News 3 that no warrants have been issued.
Shipman has a message for the scammer: "You are destroying families while you're scamming folks. And it would have been different if it was just me. I'm okay, you know? But I have children. I have grandkids."
She says this has taken a toll on everyone, and she wants to warn others of scams, especially on social media platforms.
"It's an open opportunity for people to try to scam a lot of folks out of... sometimes vehicles, sometimes houses and sometimes out of their personal items," she said. "So, just do as much research as you can."
For now, Shipman and her family are spending nights with loved ones until they find something permanent, hopefully before the holidays.
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