Image Credit: Canva
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
Authorities are warning about a new type of scam affecting those seeking rental homes in Middle Tennessee after a family was victimized, losing the house and a significant amount of money.
Charnequa McIermore spent eight months staying with others and saving money while searching for a place for herself, two children, and boyfriend before finding a home with a “For Rent” sign in Spring Hill, TN. The sign advertised the house as a property owned by AMH Homes and included a phone number and QR code to request a “contactless” tour.
McIermore recounted calling the number and being walked through the process of scanning the code, completing an identity verification, and accessing the home. There was another family touring the residence at the same time, also on the phone with the same man, which she believed helped lend an impression of legitimacy.
After viewing the home McIermore submitted the application and paid the $75 fee. Upon “approval”, she was asked to then pay a $700 security deposit, which she raised with help from local ministries. But when inquiring about writing a check, she was told the payment needed to be sent through a money transfer app Chime, as the contact claimed to be “private landlords” who did not accept checks.
Once she sent that payment, she was given a move-in date and time, but no one ever showed up to let the family inside. After attempting to reach the landlord, she was eventually told to re-scan her ID and provided the lockbox code to enter the home.
Three days later, no one had come to remove the sign or lockbox, and she had not received a copy of the lease. Again attempting to communicate with the landlord, she was told she must pay another $400 for a utility payment. Then, another family showed up to tour the house.
She was advised to call the police, and Lt. Michael Foster confirmed the family had been scammed. “They’re putting fake information in the QR code. Someone will slap a QR code onto the sign. When people go to that, they think they’re going to something legitimate when they are going to where the scammer wants them to go,” he said.
“We were basically squatters not supposed to be in this house,” Mclemore said. “It’s crazy. I really can’t believe it happened.”
Variations on these scams have been reported in the Spring Hill area for over a decade according to Foster, but this new tactic is concerning because so many corporate rental companies now use contactless methods that do not use any face-to-face interaction.
Unfortunately, Foster said it is nearly impossible to recover the money as most of the scammers are overseas and use money transfer apps that are untraceable. “We don’t have the resources to track down people if they are outside the United States,” he lamented. “The scammers know this, and that is why they keep doing it.”
And these types of scams seem to be gaining prevalence throughout the state, particularly in Middle Tennessee. Numerous similar incidents were reported in 2022 in Murfreesboro and accounts from other parts of the state have included several different tactics employed by the scammers.
One such instance was another Spring Hill home in July of 2024, wherein the scammer used Facebook Marketplace to pass off a home for rent that was actually for sale. The victim received a code to enter the house after contacting the person on the listing and sent the perpetrator over $1,200 via Cash App for application fees and a deposit.
A Knoxville family had a nearly identical experience to Charnequa McIermore in April of 2025 and was scammed out of almost $2,000 before being contacted by the actual real estate company and informed they were residing on the property illegally.
And in May of 2025, a rental company based in Tullahoma called Tennessee Homes issued a warning about scammers advertising rental houses using photos of Tennessee Homes’ properties to collect deposits or rent payments from victims. They stated some fraudsters even provided fake keys to the supposed rentals and then became unreachable when the people tried to move into the house.
The Tennessee Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs issued an alert back in 2023 warning of common QR code scams with a list of red flags often seen in these rip-offs. The office also offered some precautions consumers can take like verifying the source of the code, inspecting the code for signs of tampering or manipulation, previewing the link URL, and keeping devices up to date for operating and security software.
Authorities advise renters to check directly with a rental company’s website and get correct contact information to ensure a listing is legitimate and help flag problems or discrepancies.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
