Craigslist Scam Ad
In the past, the Real Estate industry had a lot to do with the control of the flow of information. We now live in a wonderful age where the consumer can research just about anything they want to know. This freedom of information comes with a price. We no longer have control of who is using this information to exploit the public.
Take the rental I have available. The price is $1650 per month, not $1000. Pets are not okay (for the most part). I’ve also been forwarded some email correspondence from the scammer from two different people.
I received your mail..I am the owner of the house you are making inquiry of…Actually I resided in the house with my family, my wife and son before we were transferred to Africa on Christian Missionary Work… Presently my house is still available and monthly rent is $1000 (rent already includes utilities).
Notice that the person is not in this country, they are in West Africa. The rent is low and they will send you the keys without your being able to see the property. The Scammer is also using my father’s name in the email address.
A Deposit of $1000 (which happens to be the security deposit) is required before moving in….The deposit is refundable if at the end of the day you don’t like the House but i am giving you the benefit of doubt that you would definitely like it.Since we are not around to show the House,you can just drive by to see the the House from the outside.Its a lovely home everybody would like.
Also these scammers will paste an extremely basic rental application into the body of their email.
SO IF YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE RENT APPLICATION FORM BELOW.
RENT APPLICATION FORM.FIRST NAME:__________?
MIDDLE NAME:__________?
LAST NAME:__________?
PROFESSION:__________?
PHONE:
(CELL)PHONE__________?
(WORK)PHONE__________?
(HOME)PHONE__________?
KIDS_____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY________
PRESENT ADDRESS:_____________________
CITY:_______________
STATE:______________
ZIP CODE:____________
HOW LONG?___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING__________?
IF THIS HOUSE IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING?____________?
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN?______________?
HOW SOON CAN YOU HAVE THE DEPOSIT PAYMENT SENT_______________
HOW SOON DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THE KEYS AND DOCUMENTS OF THE HOUSE__________________
IF YOU HAVE A PET,
NAME OF PET:_____________?
KIND OF PETS:_____________?
HABITS
DO YOU SMOKE______________ ?
DO YOU DRINK______________?
DO YOU WORK LATE NIGHT?____?
Jana put in a courtesy Craigslist ad just to warn people about scams as well. See Below.
There are some very active “scammers” on Craigslist right now!Please note that any responses to your inquiries that offer to send you the keys, upon sending a deposit, is a scam!Please do not respond to these!!!Commonly, these fake ads are ripped off of a legitimate previous ad, and offer rentals at a considerably lower monthly rental rate. It is really recommended to do your research and have a good idea of what to reasonably anticipate for rental rates in this town. If you do this, it should be that much easier to avoid being scammed! You know what they say, if it seems to good to be true … it probably isn’t true!Best of luck!
So Renters, beware of these scammers, always look at a property yourself, or at the very least have someone you trust look at it for you, such as a friend, family member or REALTOR(C).
Fellow REALTOR Members, please watch out for these scams as well. They create hassles for us, it’s true, but they also can really financially damage members of our community.
-Ryan
