The Internet is such a great tool for our business. As so many of you do, I use sitessuch as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc...to promote my business and listings. However, I've never been a huge fan of Craigslist because of the potential for scams. I never in a million years that I would be part of one!
My house in Columbia, MDis for sale. My agent contacted me a few days ago to tell me that someone had posted my home for rent on Craigslist for $1000 per month. (I WISH my mortgage was that low!) At first, I didn't think much of it, especially since it was generating rental leads for me. But, much to my dismay, this scam has snowballed into, what I believe, is a much bigger ordeal.
I was contacted by another agent last night who told me that she had been corresponding with the scam artist via e-mail. The woman wanted a $1000 security deposit mailed to her in exchange for a house key. (Do people REALLY fall for these things??) The agent went on to say that the scammer had created a Facebookaccount using my name with photos of my home on her page; thankfully, this profile has been removed from the site. The agent also forwarded me e-mails sent by the scammer and low and behold, the e-mails were signed with, you guessed it, my name!
I reported the posting as a scam to Craigslist and contacted local authorities to see what, if anything, could be done. The officer who came to my home was very helpful and friendly and took down all of the information to be turned over to the Internet Fraud department. I also logged a complaint with the U.S Federal Government at http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx .
I'm not only concerned about the possibility that this person could have access to my other personal information, but the mere fact that my name has now been involved in a Real Estate scam astounds me! I hope that people are vigilant enough to research scams like these. One good thing about Craigslist is that they do provide some tips on how to determine if something is a scam. Hopefully, no one fell for this one!
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