From my TeamIrene blog:
If anyone you know is shopping for house rentals on Craigslist, please make sure they know about a scam that apparently has been going on for a while.
It was brought to my attention by an agent in my office whose client had called on a house advertised on Craigslist as available for rent at $2,200 a month. The client offered $2,000, to which the listing agent replied that the owner would not accept that.
The next day he saw the same home listed for rent at $1,800 a month, but with different contact information. He called and was told that before he could see the home he needed to fill out a complete application, which it turns out required ALL of his information, including his social security number and driver license number.
The client realized something fishy was up and called the person he had talked to the first time around to ask what was going on. As it turns out, the home was still listed with that agent and still for rent at $2,200.
The second listing was a fake, created by scammers to get people to divulge all of their personal information by filling out a phony rental application.
Bottom line? Be extremely cautious before giving out ANY information to people you are not sure are legitimate. I personally think Craigslist is a great resource and I know they're trying to crack down on this kind of activity, but ultimately it's up to us to keep ourselves safe.
If you know someone who is searching for home rentals on Craigslist, please make sure they're aware of this scam!
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