Never submit personal or financial information to websites without verifying them first
Online scammers are always looking for new targets. Recently they been very active on social media advertising assistance for services like applying for Section 8 funding and getting onto the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waitlist.
These fake ads, messages, and emails trick people into going to scammers’ websites by clicking on real-looking links. Once you are there, they ask for personal information or money or both.
Here is an example of a scam ad that has appeared on Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok. The information and the website are all fake.
There are many other similar scams too—for example, impersonating landlords via email to ask for payments or claiming that a tenant has HCV approval and unlawfully requesting a rental deposit.
If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Never submit your Social Security Number, bank or credit card information, or other personal details to a website you found through an advertisement or an online search.
Please be aware that:
- Access to public housing and/or the HCV waitlist is always processed through official Public Housing Agency channels like County Housing.
You can find up-to-date information about the waitlist in St. Louis County at https://countyhousing.org/wait-list-info/.
- You will never be asked for a financial deposit to secure a place on the waitlist.
If you think you have been targeted by a scam, please report it to us at County Housing at (314) 428-3200 and to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov. You can also report the incident to HUD’s Computer Incident Response Team at CIRT@hud.gov.
