A website posing as tiny-home builder Escape is advertising finished houses for prices as low as $11,500 and letting shoppers place them in an online cart as if they were buying everyday retail items.
The setup raised suspicion, Tiny House Talk reported.
Here's what to know
A warning was issued to tiny-house buyers after the scam site surfaced. It resembled the site of Escape, a well-known, legitimate company based in Rice Lake, Wisconsin.
According to Tiny House Talk, the bogus storefront showed several completed homes at unrealistic prices and paired those listings with "add to cart" buttons, checkout wording, and shipping claims.
Dan George of Escape told the site that prospective buyers had already lost money.
The actual company — also known as Escape Traveler — builds homes in a Recreation Vehicle Industry Association-inspected plant and sells them through escapetraveler.net.
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Its lowest-priced homes start at $45,440, not $11,500.
The questionable site reportedly promoted offers such as a 20-by-8.5-foot tiny house for $11,500, a 192-square-foot home for $18,000, and additional models listed from $20,000 to $28,000.
For comparison, a real Platinum Cottages Lark model starts at about $65,900 before delivery, which is far above the amounts shown on the suspicious site.
Other reported warning signs included the imposter site's use of a Gmail address, the absence of a factory address, and the advertisement of model names associated with other builders.
More background
The site appeared designed to make major home purchases seem routine, fast, and low-risk.
On one product page, the site promised "guarantee[d] safe and secure checkout," displayed payment card logos, and claimed orders would arrive within "1-2 business days" with "30-day free returns."
Legitimate tiny-house sales usually work very differently.
Buyers typically must deal with contracts; staged payments; title and VIN checks; scheduled delivery; and an in-person visit to the home, lot, or factory.
Tiny House Talk also reported the listings may have been built from stolen or mismatched promotional materials.
Images appeared to come from different builders, properties, and seasons, and at least one photo still showed a Tiny House Marketplace watermark. Some listings reportedly lacked a photo altogether and displayed only a blank gray placeholder alongside a price.
Tiny homes appeal to buyers looking for more affordable housing options. But scammers can exploit that by using what appear to be once-in-a-lifetime bargains as bait to obtain fake deposits or card payments.
What can be done?
Before sending any money, buyers should verify key details away from a website itself.
That includes confirming the builder's site, checking a business address, and insisting on seeing the home in person.
Experts also recommend avoiding any seller that pushes instant payment methods or asks for a deposit through a shopping cart checkout, wire transfer, or peer-to-peer app.
A legitimate builder should be able to provide a written contract, payment schedule, warranty information, and references from past buyers.
If money has already been sent, Tiny House Talk said buyers can contact their bank or card issuer immediately; save emails, screenshots, and receipts; and file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission and FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
"If it is too good to be true, it is," the site noted. "A finished, move-in-ready tiny house for $11,500 or $18,000 is not a bargain. It is bait."
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