Now that is scary! Since our websites are now or can connect to Craig's List. I will notify the agents in my office to watch posting things to this site because of scammers. Which I guess this really could happen to any site out there. Thanks for sharing!! This was very informative!

Cathleen

wow, the scams ppl come up!!! thanks for the post

Happens all the time. 

We just had a person copy our entire video for a 100,000 square foot medical complex and post it to Yahoo Video under his name and contact information.  It took Yahoo 4 days to "boot him" off after I had one of the partners , an attorney, fill out the appropriate copyright infringement paperwork.  People never cease to amaze me.

That happend to someone in my office as well

Hey Wendy, I get this a lot when I post rentals. They say the same thing and I send them a hugh reply with a friendly message telling them to focus all their efforts on doing good and not evil. I am sure it does no good, but it makes me feel better. All my best, Jim

craig's list is great, but unfortunately there is a lot of scamming there as well. wish there was a way to eliminate it.

I can't believe anyone would send a security deposit to Nigeria. Thanks for the info.

Good Post!

Thanks for this information.  I am a big fan of Craigslist; however, I guess we all need to contantly be aware of scams like this one.

It isn't just craigslist. This has happened twice to me when someone copied the information on two of my listings and posted them as for rent.

One of my listings for sale appeared in the for rent section of yahoo. A prospective buyer/tenant contacted me that she saw this property is for rent, and that it sounded too good to be true. I told her it's for sale, not for rent. She sent me the email she received -- which I promptly reported to yahoo's abuse dept (no response from them).

Here's the email from the scammer responding to an inquiry about the purported rental:

Hello Dear Gretchen,

It is a great pleasure that to you are interested in my flat.Thanks for your email and it is my gladness to hearing from you.I am Moss Frank,the owner of the house you are making enquiry of.Actually I resided in the house with my family,such as my wife and my only dauther before and presently we had packed due to my transfer from my working place and now situated in the (West Africa Nigeria) and presently my house is still available for rent for $900  per month including the utilities like hydro,washer and security.Pls i want you to note that,i am a kind and honest man and also i spent a lot on my property that i want to give you for rent,so i will solicit for your absolute maintenance of this house and want you to treat it as your own,is that taken,it is not the money that is the main problem that is why is cheap but want you to keep it tidy all the time so that i will be glad to see it neat when i come for a check up.i do that once in a while.I
also want you to let me have trust in you as i always stand on my word.
SO IF YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE RENT APPLICATIONS FORMS BELOW

RENT APPLICATION FORM
Also,Pls let me get this answer.
1)Your Full Name
2)Your Full Address & Phone Number
3)How old are you?
4)Are you married?
5)How many people will be living in the house?
6)Do you have a pet?
7)Do you have a car?
8)Occupation?
9)What is your monthly income?
Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can
have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.
Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the
document and the key to you or come and see you in person,please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that,we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.
Thanks and you are welcome

Regards

And when Gretchen said she saw the for sale sign, the scammer responded:

Thanks for the Mail,Yes,I told my lawyer/Agent in charge of the Apartment to put the For sale sign,Since There is no one to promise me total trust to take Good care of my apartment for me,So i have decided to put it on sale.
 
If you wish to talk to me on phone,Here is my phone number,you can call me as soon as possible.
 
011-234-8088118506 Or +2348088118506.

So beware! They're all over the place!

I just contacted someone whose e-mail is very similar to the one above. Thanks for the heads up. I need to contact the realtor and craigslist.

Thanks for the email. I own the 3bedroom Condo/House and also want you to know that it was due to my transfer that makes me and my wife to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own. So for now, We are here in west Africa, our new house and also with the keys of the house, we try to look for an agent that we can give this documents before we left but could not see and we are as well as don't want our house to be used any how in our present that is why we took it along with us. I and my wife came over to West Africa for a missionary work, so i hope you will promise us to take very good care of the house. So get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting home. Hope you are okay with the price of US$700 with hydro,heat laundry facilities, air condition and so on. I am looking forward to hear from you soon, please call us on how to get the house for rent, (2206 West 180th Place, Torrance CA 90504)...

Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you, we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.Please i want you to check the apartment at the address and let me know if you would like it, the apartment is locked and i have the keys.

Best Regards

The scammers just today tried it with three of our listings...... This was posted on Criagslist

Reply to: XXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXX
Date: 2008-05-20, 2:19PM PDT


Thanks for your mail. I own the house located at 41027 San Pascual Avenue, Highland Park, 92880 .Location:San Pascual Valley. The house was placed on sale but i was advised by my wife not to sell it, so i decided to place it on rent. So you can go and view and get back to me.
Details:

This handsome traditional home is located in the San Pascual Valley, adjacent to South Pasadena. Close to parks, golf course, and the beautiful hiking/riding trails of the Arroyo Seco. 2 bedrooms, plus sunroom. Central heat and air. Hardwood floors throughout. 2 car attached garage, plus plenty of additional driveway parking. Easy care garden lush with fruit trees and roses borders a private patio.

I am on a 5years Contract Work to the United Kingdom.So all documents and keys are with me since i could not get an agent to put it on Rent.So i will like to know how many Months/Years you want to rent. This are my direct phone number: +44.7XX.XXX.XXXX /You can call me anytime you feel free.
Regards...

TO VIEW PICS,PLEASE REFER TO THE LINK BELOW..

I'm looking for an apt in Paris and I've gotten 3 of these guys claiming to be crusading in West Africa, and to contact their wives for more information.

Hi Wendy and wow! Thank you for this insight.  Along with the deception people will perpetrate the most disturbing aspect to me is that the text in the last email mentioned the Lord, Jesus in an attempt to use His righteousness in deceiving others. very sad.

Here is another one I found the other day. 

Do not rent this property:

110XX independence cir

I didn't want to post the full address on the net just in case some one actualy lives there. If you find a 2600sqft house for $1000 and all utilities are included, at a similar address then this is a scam.

-X

Thanks everyone for sharing your own experiences.  I found it interesting that there was a large article in the Denver Post last week addressing this very issue.  Just since I posted this blog, it is becoming more and more widespread. 

Listed below is the second response I received from an inquiry I made about a rental posted on craigslist. I had my boyfriend drive by and the house is still under construction with a For Sale sign. I allerted the real estate agency. I am still communicating with the scammer to see if I can get more info. Very sad! People must be really desperate and hurting big time.

Hello,
Thanks for the email. I Dr. Shannon Browning own the 4 bedroom and also want you to know that it was due to my transfer that makes me and my wife to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own. So for now, We are here in West Africa,Nigeria our new house and also with the keys of the house, we try to look for an agent that we can give this documents before we left but could not see and we are as well as don't want our house to be used any how in our present that is why we took it along with us. I and my wife came over to West Africa,Nigeria for a missionary work, so i hope you will promise us to take very good care of the house. So get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting home. Hope you are okay with the price of $800(1 months first payment) with hydro,heat laundry facilities, air condition and so on.  I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP, below is the application form for you to fill and discuss on how to get the house for rent,this is the address of the home. 

10423 2nd Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98146

Wendy

Great piece.  I really enjoy your take on these scams.

by the way, Do you have an outside blog that I can add to my Blogroll ?

Thanks and look forward to reading your thoughts on the world of real estate.

Hi guys, first I will explain a lil details. Pls read this, I'am really scared and nervous now because I responded and gave all the info that he asked on that application form, (no i did not give my bank or ss), gave my full address, employment, full names etcc. I then talked to my husband and showed him the email' this is after i had replied and sent back the email. My husband then did alot of research on the internet, that is how he found this website. But he doesnt fully know' what i fully gave our full name and address etc. I live in San Diego CA. pls let me know if this is a Scam or if it is, pls let me know who to talk to, i would like to file this and report it.

I found an ad for rent with an awesome low rent in San Marcos CA. (it is not on craigs list anymore, cant find it again). I emailed that person, couple days later he responded to me with this:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

James:  Thanks for the nice compliment!  No outside blog....just AR for now.  Love the visibility and ease of use!

Marissa: I would say with 99.99% certainty that's a scam.  If you didn't give SSN/Bank info, I wouldn't be too worried.  Since the scammers are almost always overseas, I don't think there's much you can do in terms of catching them.  You could file a police report like we did, but that was simply to be on record in case someone actually came to the rental house where there were already legitimate renters in place.  The FTC is the federal agency in charge of internet scams.  Check out their website for additional info.  Good luck - hope this just disappears for you!

definitley good stuff!  we are seeing some of this in Kansas City as well...

thanks for the post, David

http://www.davidvannoyjr.com/buyer-find-homes.asp

Beautiful one bedroom apartment for rentReply to: mellisagreen@ymail.com

Date: 2008-06-25, 3:21PM

Beautiful one bedroom apartment well designed and newly refurbished in

Spring 2007 with a classic style, the apartment offers a welcoming and

cosy environment, ideal for feeling right at home.

The entrance to the apartment opens up on a large living room with two

largewindows. The sitting area offers a large convertible sofa bed

(160x200), a matching ottoman and a glass coffee table, whilst the

dining area offers a table for 4/6 people with matching cupboards, in

front of the open plan kitchen, fully equipped with all necessities

including a microwave oven.

The bedroom, with the same hardwood flooring, colour scheme and

southern exposure as the living area, offers a large double bed

(160x190), a closet with sliding doors and a comfortable en-suite

bathroom with a shower with hydro massage, a basin, a bidet and a

toilet.The apartment is located in a very silent and peaceful street,

allowing for very relaxing and pleasant stays.For more information

contact me via email.

108 Jersey Street google map yahoo map

cats are OK- purrr

dogs are OK- wooof

Location: Boston

it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

I'd heard of the check cashing scam---where you are sent a check for a large sum of money and then you keep a portion and are supposed to send back the balance, but the check that you've been sent will not be valid and then you would've lost the "difference" that you've already sent back....but hadn't heard of this one.

another scam...

*****

Hello,

 My house is still available for rent for 600 pounds including the utilities, a 2-minute walk to the shopping area . It has been recently refurbished with great attention to detail such as mahogany floors, Pls i want you to note that,i will solicit for your absolute mentenance of this house and want you to treat it as your own,is that taken,as i said earlier it is not the money that is the main problem  but want you to keep it tidy all the time so that i will be glad  to see it neat when i come for a check up.i do that once in a while.I also want you to let me have trust in you as i always stand on my word.      

 

This are the flat details that you might need from me incuding  the amenities in the flat.


 Landing  22'1" x 5'10" ( 6.73m x 1.78m )
Reception room  17'0" x 16'0" ( 5.18m x 4.88m )
Kitchen  13'0" x 11'0" ( 3.96m x 3.35m )
Bedrooms  12'10" x 10'5" ( 3.91m x 3.18m )
Bathrooms  6'10" x 5'10" ( 2.08m x 1.78m )
Guest WC  5'0" x 2'10" ( 1.52m x 0.86m )

 

Amenities 
.............................. ............
# Bedroom : 1
# Bathroom : 1
# Extra Toilet : 1 
# Extra Guest Room: 1 
# Sofa Bed : 2
# Bed Linen
 
Accommodation Features
.............................. ..................... 
Mahogany Floor : 
Heater : 
Central Heating :
Equiped Kitchen : 
Tv: Cable/Satellite TV: 
Video/Stereo: 
Internet : 
Air Conditioning:
• Full Kitchen
• Refrigerator:
• Garage/Car park
• pets  allowed.
 
 Kitchen Features
...................... ...........
Washing machine:
Juice Machine : 
Iron : 
Toaster: 
Oven :
Dishwasher : 
Coffee Maker :
Microwave : 
Refrigerator:
Stove:


 PLS KINDLY FILL THIS RENT APPLICATION FORM AND  THEN GET  BACK TO ME TODAY

1)Your Full Name

 

2)Present Address(where you reside now) & Phone Number


3)How old are you?


4)Are you married?


5)How many people will be living in the house?


6)Do you have a pet?


7)Do you have a car?


8)Occupation?


9)When are you willing to move in

 

Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file in case of issuing the receipt in your name and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the documents and the keys to you,please we are giving you all this based on trust and again i want you to stick to your words,We are putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this property of ours.
 pls call my manager who is in the uk on  07024 068 450.so he will cal me after you have called him and then he will mail me if i can send you the keys. 

I made mistake of calling Africa, I need to call my ph company and make sure that call wasn't the scam... but see below the emails. The man I talked to in Africa, was very pushy and thats what made me question the deal. then I talked about it with a friend of mine and he googled Africa rental scams. im still pissed....thanks to anyone who made this scam available for others protection

"Thank you very much for taking your time to mail me.How are you doing  today?l must tell you that it is my sincere pleasure to write you back and to let you know that the apartment you are making enquiry of is still available,the monthly fee is $600,available from now,utilities  included Gas,Heat, water ,Light and a secured parking space. 

Let me quickly introduce myself to you.My name is Vivien lopez and my  husband name is Garry Lopez,my husband is the owner of the apartment you are making enquiry of, but right now he's in West Africa on a missionary  work.l was suppose to go with him but some months before he travelled l had a very serious car accident,that affect my back bone and brain,now l am using wheel chair and l find it  very difficult to talk   but l can  communicate through email after rest,that is the reason why l did not travelled  with him,l am staying with my mother in England Uk you can reach my mother and my younger brother with our home phone +447024057103

Actually me and my husband  both resided in our apartment before he  travelled to West Africa on a missionary call,so we both agreed to rent/lease our apartment to somebody that can take proper care of it,because we will not like to experience what we experienced from our last  tenant,she destroyed most of our properties ,and l know how much my husband  spent to repair the things our last tenant destroyed,to be very honest  with you, a whole lot of people are contacting me regarding our  apartment but l am not sure of who to accept due to our past experience,so  we're taking  our time to look for a responsible and a very honest tenant  that will take proper care of our home  since me and my husband are both  far  from home,although my husband is a very busy man due to the  nature of his job,but he said  if  l find a responsible tenant that can  promise to take care of our apartment,l should rent it out to he/she.
 
We don't ever want to take the risk of putting our apartment in care of  an agent again,because our last agent just leased our home to a lady that almost destroyed all that my husband has suffered for,since my husband is very busy he said l should be very careful with the kind of  person l rent out our apartment to,but if you can assure me that if  l let you rent our apartment,you will take proper care of it,l  will be glad to make you our new tenant to be. Here is the address of our apartment ( 1016sherman St,Watertown Ny) As soon as l hear from you l will send you more information  about our apartment and if my husband is okay with you,Expect to read  from  you soon,once again thank you very much for the time you took in  mailing me l must tell you that l really appreciate it.

Yours Sincerely

Hello,

How are you doing today? hope great if so glory be to God Almighty.However, i was informed by my mom that you called my husband and you both concluded on receiving the keys and now you said you are not willing to make the payment for the shipment well, all is good.You can go ahead and cheeck out our home but remember that you can't have acess inside and that is the reason why my husband said that you should make the payment for the deleivery charges and after you have acess inside and you are plaesed with our home you will then balance up your 2months rental fee.

Below is the Fedex charges list you are adivce to pick the one you will prefer to use if you are still willing to proceed.

24 Hrs Delievery:$265
48 Hrs Delievery:$205
72 Hrs Delievery:$180

If you are willing to proceed kindly get back to me so that i can forward you my husband personal information which you will use to make the shipment payment."

eva: Don't know if you'll be coming back to read followup, but just wanted to let you know that I'm glad you shared your story.  Please check with your phone company and let us know the outcome.  Please be careful.