A fan of the “Property Brothers” from Seattle, Washington, said she lost $50,000 after falling for a scam, KIRO-TV reported on June 29, 2023.
Tammy Green, 65, of SeaTac, Seattle, said she used to watch the HGTV show with her late husband, Kevin, and after his death, she hoped “Property Brothers” Drew and Jonathan Scott would renovate her home, Green told KIRO-TV.
She said she sent them an email and — years later, in January 2023 — Green heard back from someone who claimed they were “Charles P. Hansen” from “Scott Brothers Global,” according to the publication.
“Congratulations Tammy, your application has been approved for the forever home renovations,” the letter said, per KIRO-TV.
She said she was asked to send 20% — or $50,000 — to begin the process, so Green took out a home equity loan and wired $30,000 to the fraudster, the Seattle woman told the local news station.
Green said she picked a day in May to begin renovations and that the fraudsters had her sign a contract, so she sent them the remaining balance of $20,000, according to KIRO-TV.
The “Property Brothers,” featuring twins Drew and Jonathan Scott, first aired on HGTV in 2014, though it aired on the W Network in Canada in 2011, according to the Internet Movie Database.
Fans can “expect to see a bit of bravado and sibling rivalry creep in as the twins help homebuyers and families locate, purchase and custom-create their own personal dream homes” when they watch, per HGTV.
The Scam Went Under the Radar For Months
It wasn’t until the “Property Brothers” failed to show up that Green said she realized she was duped.
“I just wanted to make sure that they were still going to show up on May 12, because I took a day off work. I sat home and I waited and waited and waited. No call, no show up. No nothing,” she told KIRO-TV.
More than a month after the renovation was supposed to take place, Green said her bank won’t refund her the money, per the outlet.
“I’ll be 65 this month, and I definitely won’t be able to retire for another ten years because I’d have to pay this off. I’d have to work paid off because Social Security would barely make the mortgage payment,” she told KIRO-TV.
What Do The ‘Property Brothers’ Have to Say?
Heavy reached out to HGTV and the Scott brothers’ rep for comment, who was unable “to provide a statement at this time,” but they sent links on Scott Brothers Entertainment’s website, which “address the issue.”
The “only way to be cast” on a Scott Brothers show is to apply via HGTV, TheScottBrothers.com, PropertyBrothers.com, or SBentertainment.com.
Authentic communication via social media from the “Property Brothers” team will occur through verified accounts that have blue check marks. They are:
- http://www.facebook.com/PropertyBrothers
- http://www.instagram.com/PropertyBrothers
- https://twitter.com/PropertyBrothers
In May 2020, they wrote an open letter to their fans regarding scams.
“Communications from other accounts claiming to be affiliated with us are likely a scam. We will never randomly contact people and ask for financial information or in-depth personal information,” it warns. “If you believe you have been contacted by one of these scam artists, we urge you not to correspond with them or send them money.”
“You can also contact your local, state/provincial or federal law enforcement authorities, including the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center and/or the Federal Trade Commission for Imposter and Rip-Off Scams, to report them,” it continues. “If you see a fellow follower on social media engaging with a potential scam artist, please watch out for each other and warn each other.”
According to IMDb, the brothers are known for HGTV shows like “Property Brothers” and their spinoffs, as well as “Celebrity IOU,” “Buying and Selling” and “Brother vs. Brother.”
Jonathan Scott has been dating actress Zooey Deschanel since 2019, and Drew Scott has been married to his wife, Linda Phan, since 2018.
Drew Scott and Jonathan Scott have more than 2.5 million and 2.7 million Instagram followers, respectively.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Jonathan Scott has a net worth of $100 million, and Drew Scott has a net worth of $100 million, too.
It not hurt the brothers to give her money to her . Even if they did not do it. It was because of them though in different ways. Be good humans guys and present her with the money back. She is an older person with a shorter lifespan. She was a loyal fan for long time. Please gift her with the money.
Thank you.
It’s terrible that this had to happen to this elderly woman. It’s not the brothers fault just as it isn’t various companies whose names are used to scam people out of money. Today you can’t be too careful. It would be nice of the brothers to go and renovate this ladies home free of charge. Just as a sign of goodwill. But I understand why they wouldn’t do that or give her money because it would only open the flood gate of thousands who have been scammed or who are trying to scam the brothers. This woman needs to think whom she may have told about sending the email to the brothers asking them to renovate her home. They would be the ones who have scammed her. Unless her email was hacked or HGTV’s email were hacked. How else would the scammers know that she had applied???
Because the original article which she responded to in the first instance wasn’t genuine!!!
If she has family, especially as in grown children, I can’t see them scamming her in the knowledge that it could be traced back using information on her computer. Scammers know how to bypass this process – which is why they get away with this stuff.