Tammy Sorrento, was recently in need of a rental property in Key West, FL for a vacation with her family, including her grandchildren. Like any new age grandma, she started looking for properties online. One of the properties she stumbled upon was ridiculously too good to be true. As soon as she went through the details of the property, her motherly instincts kicked in. She was previously an insurance investigator and that was also the reason that Tammy conducted thorough research on the listing and to her utter disappointment, the listing was, in fact, a scam.
According to Statista, Internet fraud is responsible for more than $100 billion of private and company losses. Around 30,000 Internet fraud cases have already been filed this year. However, a large number of cases go unreported. Also, a vast majority of people who are scammed deem it unnecessary to take action against the scammers. Tammy, however, thought otherwise. She came up with a solution by forming a company, Fireball Approves Investigations. Her company is dedicated to championing the fight against rental scams.
In an interview given to Times of Startups, Tammy shared her experience of nearly being scammed and how her company is solving the problem which needs an urgent and definitive solution.
Tammy, your company provides solutions to a problem which is common yet largely unaddressed through institutional mechanisms. What was the exact moment of motivation for you?
The deception, and the egregious lies the scammer placed in the rental ad really fired me up. I couldn’t believe that this person would actually create a fake listing that would have literally left me and my family stranded with no place to stay during a busy holiday weekend. I decided to do whatever it takes to prevent rental property and vacation property scams.
So how does Fireball Approves work?
Renters interested in verifying the validity of rental listing can get in touch with Fireball Approves for initial inquiry. Once we take the case, Fireball Approves confirms the identity of the advertiser. Fireball Approves also vouches for legitimate property owners and/or leasing agents who pass our robust vetting process.
What are the challenges that you face while conducting your business?
The main challenge is creating awareness that Fireball Approves is available to help renters. All too often I hear about people who were scammed that we could have helped had the individual contacted us first.
Does your company operate in only a few states or do you provide pan US services?
We provide nationwide services. Anyone from any state who feels that he or she can get scammed can contact us to avail our services.
Lastly, What are some of the common features of scammers that should immediately raise an alarm when one hunts for properties online?
The most common trait is that they will make excuses for not being able to meet you. They will feign sickness, injury or say something that makes you feel sympathetic with their situation and makes you understand why they are not able to meet with you. Moreover, they will constantly make up stories that don’t make sense.
For more information on Fireball Approves, visit https://FireballApproves.com
