I've been reading on several AR blogs that some agents have been affected by the Nigerian rental scam that is going around. This morning, my local newspaper in Nashville, The Tennessean, ran a big story about it in the Williamson Real Estate section on the front page. It involves a few agents I know which made it even more interesting.
For those of you that aren't familiar with this scam - it can affect you so I highly recommend that you make yourself aware of this problem. What's happening is that agents' listings on Craigslist are being "hijacked" by scam artists who are relisting properties for rent at lower rates and requesting that prospective renters send them money to get the place. They claim to be missionaries working in Nigeria.
Here's a link to the article in the Tennessean today (not sure how long the link will last but here it is): http://tinyurl.com/cnf8al
Nigerian scams have been going on a long time - you know, the ones you get in your email box claiming that you are in line to receive large sums of money but only if you send bank account information or "processing fees" or the ones that say you've won a lottery or something like that. This is along those lines. So be aware and watch your listings!
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