My words, my photo, my listing; but I did not place the ad on Craig's list, and the house is definitely NOT for rent. Craig's List promptly removed the ad, when we reported it as a scam, and the local police called it an attempt at "theft by deceit."
The police, however, say they do not have the resources to investigate an attempted crime. They did take a report in case someone does actually try to move into the house. The property is a foreclosure, and it is vacant.
I learned about the Craig's List ad when a would-be renter noticed that he saw a photo of the same house for sale on one of our local real estate websites. My name and contact information were included with the listing, so he phoned me to ask about renting the house and to make an appointment to see it. "It's not for rent," I told him.
"But I saw it on Craig's List!" he said. I advised him to continue doing just what he had done, and that is to search out a local contact person before he tries to rent any house. When I found out that he had also emailed the contact given in the ad, I cautioned him not to give out any information AT ALL if that person replies. I also confirmed that he has up-to-date virus protection on his computer.
The policeman who took our report said that the scam involves getting earnest money (in the case of a sale) or a deposit (for a rental), and then the perpetrator proceeds to drain the bank account. I thought it was probably some sort of phishing attempt or identity theft scheme, but it may be as simple as a one-time money grab. I don't know exactly how it works, but the police officer said that it almost worked once locally. The bank caught on, at some point, and managed to stop the transfer of money.
The same kind of bogus for rent ad was posted earlier this year on another property listed at my company, so that makes a total of three recent attempts involving Cape Girardeau listings.
Agents representing vacant listings with absentee owners have to be especially aware that scammed renters may actually move in or attempt to move into the houses. While that may sound far-fetched, I did actually have a property two years ago that had unauthorized "rent squatters" move into it following an eviction and subsequent trashout. They claimed to have rented the house for a deposit and first month's rent paid in cash. While they had only been in the house for a few days when we found them, they refused to vacate. The bank then had to do yet another eviction, rekey and trashout.
I do have to admit, though, that Craig's List must be effective. The bogus ad was only up for one day, yet I got a call from an interested party.
*****Update: In reblogs of this post, numerous agents have reported similar schemes involving vacant listings in their towns. One crook even set up an email account using the legitimate homeowner's name--very easy to do, with all the assorted freebie email resources on the web.
Another claimed to be living outside of the US and wanted the renter to complete an application via email so she could run a credit check on the would-be renter.
The best advice to give any would-be renter is to meet the advertiser in person, as John M. Scott commented at a reblog of this topic. I would add to his advice: Do NOT fill out any online application or answer any questions via email, no matter how legitimate the ad may seem or how compelling their argument may seem about why they cannot meet in person. These scammers set up fake email addresses that emulate the owner, they manufacture "out of the country for several months" stories, and they create very believable scenarios. Meet in person, and if "in person" is at a coffee shop or other public place, ask for ID.
The implications of this type of crime run all the way from scamming a deposit to stealing an identity. It's a jungle out there, for sure!*****
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