Increase in Rental Scams Earns Craigslist Advertisers a Bad Name

Landlords, realtors and property managers that advertise houses for rent in Denver Colorado or houses for rent in Las Vegas Nevada or other metropolitan areas may have a hard time finding tenants when advertising on free classified advertising websites like Craigslist. That’s because too many renters have fallen victim to rental scams or know a friend who has after following up on leads advertised on these types of sites.

One of the most common internet rental scams works like this. Someone, presumably a property owner or manager, posts an ad for houses for rent in Denver Colorado or houses for rent in Las Vegas Nevada offering unusually low rental rates. Renters on tight budgets are drawn to these properties, thinking they’ve found the deal of a lifetime. What they end up with instead are unscrupulous individuals who steal sensitive personal information like addresses, social security numbers and bank account information and use the information to commit identity theft, or even ask for money in exchange for a key they don’t really have.

Another popular scam is a supposed landlord that initiates the rental application process with multiple tenants simultaneously and obtains deposits from all of them. With deposits in hand, the landlord repeatedly postpones the move-in date. By the time tenants realize there’s a problem, the supposed landlord has already deposited tenants’ money and is nowhere to be found.

Unfortunately, deceit runs rampant where there’s ample opportunity. And scammers find plenty of opportunity on sites like Craigslist. Because these sites offer no way of knowing who’s legitimate and who’s a scammer, renters have become leery of all advertisers. Many have even stopped looking for rental property on sites like Craigslist.

If you’re a landlord, realtor or property manager, you can’t risk being unfairly perceived as the bad guy. That’s why you, too should be extremely careful of how you advertise on free classified advertising sites like Craigslist. Instead, consider advertising your houses for rent Denver Colorado, your houses for rent in Las Vegas Nevada, and wherever you have houses for rent on websites that specialize in promoting income producing properties. Rates are much lower than you think, and better yet, your ads are targeted directly at renters.