A WOMAN had believed she was going to move into a beautiful home she found on Facebook Marketplace, but soon found out she was a part of a major scam.

Justin Campos, 22 is suspected of scamming a woman out of thousands of dollars, which she believed was going toward her future New York apartment.

According to the police, the scammer posted a property for rent using aliases such as Campos Bracato and Justin Campos-Brocato.

When the unidentified woman contacted Campos about the home, she agreed to pay him $2,300 through Zelle, which was supposed to be her deposit.

However, she would notice that despite her recent payment, her “new home” was still listed.

She asked her friend to call Campos and act like a potential buyer, where he told her that he was still taking deposits, according to Newsday.

Frustrated, the victim confronted Campos in front of the home she thought would be hers, and called the police.

Law enforcement proceeded to arrest Campos at 10:45 p.m. on Monday, where he was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny.

Investigators would later uncover that the home Campos had listed was never for rent in the first place.

The 22-year-old faces arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip on November 27.

As of now, It is not clear if he is represented by counsel.

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Police are asking anyone who might be a victim of Campos to contact Seventh Squad detectives at 631-852-8752. All calls will remain confidential.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time someone tried to pull an apartment scam like this.

Last year, Christopher Wheelock, found a deal for an apartment that was $800 per month, and a $500 deposit was required.

The moment he began the process he noticed red flags, like the rental application asking for a Social Security Number, but he needed the apartment.

“I was less than 10 days out from starting my new job in Lewiston, and finding a short-term rental was proving to be more difficult and more expensive than I have ever experienced in more than a dozen moves in my adult life,” Wheelock said in his report.

After completing the application he was asked to send $200 to go towards his deposit, through Cash App.

This was another huge concern since it’s very hard to get a refund on Cash App, but he sent it anyway.

After sending the money, he received a follow-up email asking for the remainder of the deposit as well as the first month’s rent totaling an additional $1,100.

He told the landlord he needed a few days, but used that time to research the landlord.

He quickly found out through a realtor that the rental was never listed, and the landlord was not who they said they were.

Later, when the scammer reached out to collect their payment, he told them he was on to them.

“The jig is up. I know this is a scam. You don’t own the property and I’ve reported you to the police, the FBI, and the Federal Trade Commission. You better make yourself scarce,” he said in the report.

Unfortunately, scams like this can happen to anybody.