Newport Man Warns Of Facebook Scam

A Newport man is warning about a scam on Facebook. Calvin Errington told the Cocke County sheriff’s office that he and his fiancé had been living in a hotel room while they looked for a place to rent. He says they found a house for rent on Facebook. The man claiming to rent the home was listed as Hamilton Robert and Errington says things seemed to be legitimate at first. He says he agreed to a lease for the home on Shellbark Road in Newport. Two payments were made one for $150 and another for $500 with a final payment of $1,000 to be paid on Wednesday. Errington stated that before paying the rest of the money, he decided to drive by the home. That was when he realized he had been scammed…as he found the home was not a rental. It was someone else’s home that was occupied. The sheriff’s office told Errington that he may not be able to recover the money he had put out, but to contact Facebook about the scam. Errington saved himself from losing more money by checking the home out before putting out any more money.