Nick Datz, 24, was looking for a fresh start in a new apartment and wired the money to a con artist who was posing as the landlord.
It turns out the pictures of the apartment listing he saw on Craiglist were stolen from another website.
The real landlord is renting the property for $2,000 a month.
"Someone is scamming the honest public and scamming me," landlord Anthony Calzaretta said.
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The owner put up a warning about the scam, but not before Datz lost the hard-earned money he saved and borrowed to finally move out of his mom's house.
But 7 On Your side had a surprise for him Thursday.
"To hear how someone was preying on someone that young, that bothered me," Michelle Krupa said.
Krupa has three boys of her own and her heart went out to Datz when she saw the story.
She wanted to give him a fresh start.
"Hi Nick, it's Michelle Krupa, I'm a mom of three young sons so I just wanted to help you out, give you a little bit of a head start as you reengage in the work world," Krupa said in a video message to Datz. "So here's a check made out to you to help you find that apartment."
Datz was overwhelmed by her generosity and kindness.
"Thank you, I appreciate that, hopefully I can meet you one day and repay my debt to you, I just thank you very much from the bottom of my heart," Datz said.
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