Beware Craigslist Rent Scams August 21st, 2010

Categories: For Buyers

I was called by two different parties today about a house I have for sale but not for rent.

The scammer steals the photos from my listing advertisement and then advertises the house for rent on craigslist. When people email him for more information he says that he happens to be out of the country right now but if they will mail money for a deposit he will hold the house for them.

Thankfully, the two people that called today went out to drive by the house and noticed my for sale sign. They called me to verify that it was for rent and I immediately recognized the scam because this has been happening for almost two years. However, the frequency seems to be increasing and becoming more sophisticated. Sometimes the scammer even uses the real name of the owner.

DO NOT…I repeat…DO NOT send money out of country to anyone that is advertising a house for rent. You will never see those greenbacks again and you won’t rent the house either.

Written by Marty Van Diest Please leave a comment.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 21st, 2010 at 11:23 pm and is filed under For Buyers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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