We caught another clone-scammer today. They had stolen one of our digital photos posted on Craigslist and duplicated our ad. 2 people reported getting responses back from what they thought was a landlord, asking them to send an application and "good faith" deposit. It is amazing how many cheats there are out there, but here a few tips for spotting them before they make a victim out of you:
1. Never rent a property unseen. Walk through the property with an agent, and get a business card.
2. Never place your trust in someone just because they "sound nice".
3. Scammers will often invoke religious undertones (we need to rent the home quickly because we are leaving to do missionary work). That is not to say everyone that mentions religion or god is a bad person, but it is often used as a tool to gain trust, so beware.
4. If a deal sounds too good to be true, it is. The clone scammer that we caught under priced our ad by $300, advertising a $1300 home for $1000.
5. Make sure the person you are dealing with is a legitimate party. Title companies can look up registered owners, as can many management companies (including ours). Check out property managers on the Department of Real Estate Website, or check local resources (citysearch.com, yelp.com, etc.).
We will never do away with all the scammers, but we can be better about identifying them. Good luck and safe web-browsing.
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