Watch out for real estate and rental scams on sites like CraigsList.com. This weekend, one of our listings (a home we had for sale) showed up on CraigsList.com as a rental. It seems some low-life scumbag had nothing better to do than steal information and use it to con people out of their money.
The scam is pretty simple. They steal listings off the internet and post them as rentals on sites like CraigsList.com. The picture on the right was our listing they stole. Click on the picture to see the full size image.
If you respond to the rental ad you will probably get an email back asking for some personal information. What happens next depends on the scumbag. We hear some will meet you at the home and pretend they forgot the keys so they can't show you the property. They will say there are a lot of people interested though and if you want to stay in the game you'll need to give them a cash security deposit. Others will try to do everything by email and get you to give them your banking info and other personal data so they can do nasty things like steal your identity.
All we can say is to be careful. If the deal seems to good to be true, it probably is. If you think it is a scam, contact your State Attorney General's office or the FBI. Be proactive and smart.
Best to you and keep safe my friends,
Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777
