Beware Craigs List Rental Scams!
This is the time of year that a lot of people are moving and the Nigerian scammers are out in full force. Below is a real e-mail exchange that took place when a Nigerian scammer hijacked one of my listings. This listing is a rental home in Baltimore County that they are asking $1400 per month for and at that price we’ve gotten a ton of showings. The only reason it’s still available is the landlord has turned down several applications because of credit reasons. The scammer put the same house up for rent for $700/month and looked up the owners name in the property records and made up an email address with the owner’s name in it! I took out the names of the real people to protect their privacy.
Before reading this remember, if a home is available for rent, you will be able to see it on the inside before paying for it! Some agents will ask that you fill out an application or submit a credit report initially only because they want to see if you would qualify. Here in the Ft. Meade area, the rental market is fairly fast moving and it is difficult to get people approved who have questionable credit (late payments, open collections, judgments) approved. In some cases it’s easier to get a mortgage than be approved to rent a home!
DO NOT GIVE OUT PERSONAL INFORMATION in an email to a stranger! This guy FILLED OUT much of the information the scammer asked for so now some guy in Africa has his address, children’s names and ages, relatives, etc.
If the rent advertised on Craigs List is HALF WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS ASKING FOR RENT that should be a big red flag. Landlords and property managers are not stupid and you are not going to get a deal like that unless your Daddy owns that house. If they can get $1400 they may take $1300 but why in the world would they advertise it for $700.
I am really surprised that people are still falling for this, but this one happened just this past week. If you hear a friend talking about anything that sounds like this, refer them to this blog. If the home is listed in the MLS, a licensed Realtor can confirm the amount of rent and there are Realtors who will help you rent a home in the Ft. Meade Maryland area and you won’t have to send Western Union payments to Nigeria.
By the way, this gentleman fortunately contacted a licensed Realtor who explained to him what was going on and showed him this property yesterday.
Check this out:
From: G
Subject: Re: Property on Craigslist
To: "D E”
Date: Friday, April 22, 2011, 11:29 AM
Hello Mr D ... I'm having problems printing your application. Could give me a call please.443 xxx-xxxx. . Im really interested in renting your property. As soon as possible...
Email from Scammer:
|
Importantly this rent agreement and payment is made with one bond of trust and under all sincerity of the heart. the payment should kindly be transferred through a western union money transfer agent/outlet/post office. This is a very easy and secured method of making international money transfer, i will send the keys and document to you via FedEx courier services to the address you send to me and the tracking number will be sent to you so that you can possible occupy our house,
Date: Saturday, April 23, 2011, 5:09 AM
|
*************************************************************************************
To list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Maryland, call Lisa & David Webber, Licensed Realtors® at 410-320-0242. For more information on our services, please visit our profile or our website.
To view all the Maryland Homes For Sale Click here and then click on Property Search on the left hand side. We know Anne Arundel, Howard, Calvert, Charles, Baltimore, and Prince George's Counties and look forward to the opportunity to serve you.
Comments(2)