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Randall Jeppesen ReportingA scam artist is taking advantage of college students looking for roommates, and police say he's getting away with laptops, iPods and whatever else he wants after moving in.
Chris Blacker shakes his head and laughs thinking about being scammed.
"He took most of my clothes," Blacker says.
The scam artist is wanted in Colorado and California. Investigators say his real name is Joshua Shelly.
Police say the suspect does his homework. He apparently showed up in Provo saying he was a BYU student from Ireland who just got back from a mission and was looking for a place to rent. Officers say he even went to church.
"He went up and bore his testimony," says Blacker.
A few days later, though, Blacker came home and everything valuable in the house was gone. So was the fake Irishman.
"We're going to be extremely cautious with our new roommates," says Blacker.
Police and Blacker say it's important to get background information on people before allowing them to rent.
