Watch Out For the Craig's List Scammers! Thank You to a New Friend!

Wow, thanks for sharing that story Debra. I have recently been talking with some realtors that we work with about utilizing eProperty's one-click Craigslist postings. We'll be a lot more careful and vigilant of potential scammers now.

Great post Debbie...there is a ton of this type of scam going on here in San Diego. There are agents from other companies using other agents listings and pretending to be the listing agent..more crazy stuff...

I have never heard of Google Alerts. I'm going straight away to check this out! Thanks for that!

     Here's an item from my blog on this stuff...over time (and after this interview of mine), the scammers have gotten better and better (or worse and worse, depending on your perspective).  Just as folks use radar detectors to avoid speeding tickets, police use radar detector detectors to find those using them illegally, etc- the ball bounces back and forth with these as well. 

     When the public began to look into appraisers' records to find names of real homeowners and nab the scammers...you guessed it- the scammers began checking the sites and using actual owners' names to add that extra bit of faux authenticity to their messages.  The fight goes on...

Many have spoken of issues with the "Nigerian craigslist scams" and how they affect folks in a multitude of ways.  I was first hit by those folks just over 2 years ago, and I've been hit a few times since.  When I was hit, I contacted one of my local news stations, WKMG, and was fortunate to speak with then-feature reporter Erik von Ancken.  Erik shared my feeling that it would be in the public's interest to do an interview on the subject.

     Erik met me at a rental home of mine and conducted the interview.  The following is the transcipt, and the link at the bottom tracks back to the story.  You may follow the link that will take you to the video.  Please feel free to share this with any and all you think may benefit from it. 

     Again, many have heard the "stories" about the scams- but in my humble opinion no one has done a better job than Erik in bringing illustration to the story.  Story, transcript and link included with expressed written permission from WKMG-6, Fox Orlando.  My many thanks to them for allowing me to include this in my blog.  I feel it's a must-see for those that remain in the dark and feel that these things don't really happen or can't happen to them.

Housing Scam Uses Craigslist As Tool

Renters Offered Great Deals On Renting Homes

POSTED: Thursday, February 5, 2009 UPDATED: 10:39 am EST February 6, 2009

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A scam in Central Florida involving a popular Web site attempts to prey on individuals who are looking for affordable housing.

 

Scam artists are using Craigslist.org to place ads for homes to rent using the same name as the actual renter but a different e-mail address. The ad promises quality homes at an inexpensive price, but the person posting the ad does not own the home, which may be occupied by legitimate renters.

 

Dennis Burgess, a property manager, said his name was used on a Craigslist posting by a scam artist, who offered a Caselberry home on Queens Mirror Circle for $900 per month. The four-bedroom house is nearly 3,000 square feet, sits on a ski lake and has a large back yard. It also has a pool and wood floors.

 

Kathy Rapp is the real renter of the home but said the day they moved in was quite bizarre.

 

"We had four people look at the house on the day we moved in, thinking that the house was available and they were renting it," said Rapp, who added that people showed up with what they believed to be legitimate leases.

 

"I showed one person the lease, and they didn't believe me," Rapp said. "I was shocked, amazed, so I called Dennis right away," Rapp said. "He didn't know. He had to look into it further." Burgess said he then discovered that someone had designed an ad and placed it on Craigslist, a site where you can buy, sell and rent items.

 

"Apparently they'd used my actual ad (and) changed something around, changed the e-mail address," Burgess said.

 

The fake ad listed a price of $900 per month but later disappeared, causing several people to track down the real Burgess.

 

"They actually spoke with a Nigerian Dennis Burgess -- accent is just a slight bit different. This gentleman was still telling (people) to wire money, $900, and once he'd got the money, he'd give them the keys and ready to move in," Burgess said.

 

A would-be renter kept an e-mail exchange with the scam artist, who wrote that he is "Dennis Burgess, the owner of the house you are making enquiry (sic) of." The e-mail said he was in "Nigeria for an international Christian follower's crusade" and that he is "kind, honest and trustworthy."

 

The scam artist sent a form, asking personal questions, such as "Do you smoke?" and "Do you work late at night?"

 

The would-be renter asks for proof that he's the owner, and an e-mail stated, "You have nothing to worry about, with trust that we are letting our house to you people cause we found your application satisfary (sic) and want to have you people occupy the house."

 

"It hurts my name, weighs heavy on me, because it's Dennis Burgess. Their leases are drafted Dennis Burgess, at least at first look, they think I've deceived them. I hate that," said Burgess, who had to inform dozens of would-be renters who nearly wired $900 via Western Union.

 

"I can't really say I'm surprised," said Florida Department of Law Enforcement Agent In Charge Wayne Ivey. "The economy is tough. A lot of people are looking for that great deal out there. The criminals know that, and they're taking advantage of it."

 

Ivey said the amount of scams has increased lately.

 

"Because a lot of these scams, especially the phishing scams, they're operated from overseas, which makes our job just incredibly tough. And even if we can identify where it came from, it makes it real hard to put a body with an arrest on them," he said.

 

"There are no safeguards that I'm aware of that would safeguard someone from copying your information," said Jeff Francher, realtor with the United Realty Group. Francher said Craigslist is not to blame because many realtors use the Web site as a tool to sell and rent houses.

 

Francher said prospective renters or buyers should research the ads, saying there's no harm in calling a phone number or sending an e-mail. But he said you should never send any money or personal information until the property has been checked out.

 

Francher said using the county's property appraiser Web site is also a good idea.

 

"It's a good indicator of what's fair," he said.

 

It will also show who owns the house.

 

"Don't just take it and say, 'Wow, that's a great deal. I'm going to jump on it.' Take it to that next level and investigate it, just as you would as if it's going to impact you for the rest of your life, because really it can," Ivey said.

 

"I want to get the word out: If something looks too good to be true, it probably is," Burgess said.

 

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Housing Scam Uses Craigslist As Tool

Renters Offered Great Deals On Renting Homes

POSTED: Thursday, February 5, 2009 UPDATED: 10:39 am EST February 6, 2009 

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/18651834/detail.html 

I get this all the time.... I get these scammers out of country stealing pics. off of our listings and then posting the properties on Craigslist at ridiculous low rental amounts. One of them even recently got smart enough to set up a fake e-mail account using my name in the e-mail address to make it seem more legit.

Even after notifying Craigslist and Yahoo (for somebody setting up the fake e-mail pretending to be me).... somebody else just pops up and does the same thing.

The best advice for potential tenants --- be careful using Craigslist to find your next rental on your own.

 

Debra, great job on bringing this up!  Last month, I saw one of our listings on a Rental Site and mentioned it to the listing agent ---NO!  the owners had not put it there as a rent-to-own property!  Lots of rental scams out there, not only on Craig's list! Congrats on the feature, friend.

Debra, unfortunately this seems to be going on everywhere. I had a similar experience, except my listing was not for rent, sale only. I also wondered how the person got a hold of the owner, until they said that they claimed they were out of town. The person told the person they will send the keys as soon as they receive the downpayment. 

Wow!  People never fail to amaze me.  We had a guy re-key a local property for sale, posted it for rent, took a security deposit and first month's rent from a family and disappeared by the time the listing agent found out someone was living in her listing.  Theives are getting bolder all the time.  Thanks for you post.  I'll stay aware as we cover our rentals.

It's amazing at what lengths some people will go to scam others out of money. It just isn't right.  Good to hear that you were able to prevent someone from getting scammed on this one.

Wow, what a story! It seems that you're just not safe anywhere now days. Someone's out to swindle someone else wherever you go. Thanks for bringing this scam to my attention.

Gretchen

Debra, I am always surprised at how resourceful these scammers are. It is easy to fall prey, as it can look so legit

Debra,

This is truly a scary situation.  Congrats on the feature.

Ann Hayden in Wildwood, MO