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Sacramento Area Craigslist Scam Broken Up by Local Media

It's no secret that Craigslist rental and online listing scams have hit just about every market in the U.S., especially the major ones.

Savvy folks who have been lured in by what appear to be great deals, have uncovered scams and reported them to law enforcement, attorney generals, but probably more importantly - their local media.

We've seen this happen from Indio, CA to Wildwood, NJ. People are sick of being scammed and doing something about it.

A man in Elk Grove, CA joined this group of vigilantes for consumer protection and had the (nearby) Sacramento ABC affiliate investigate a bogus listing.

Take a look at the report below by 10News in Sacramento:

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The reporter, Tom Jensen went right after this scammer and was able to discover the rest of his scams by Google searching his email address and phone number.

This is a great idea and one we haven't heard mentioned before. If you see a deal in an online rental that looks too good to be true, try searching the landlords personal contact details. You may be surprised, as this reporter saw, that the phony landlord is running the same scam in other markets.

Great job Tom!

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Online Listing Property Scams Hit Austin TX

There's no doubt that Austin, TX is a hot real estate market. Despite that, prices remain fairly low for rentals... but not this low!

A 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house was listed on Craigslist in Austin for $900/month. It's hard to imagine that one could even find those kinds of prices in Detroit right now! Well, then again, with some homes still selling for $1 in Motor City, that's probably an exaggeration. 

Take a look at the video below from KXAN in Austin's report about a person who caught this scam, dead in its tracks:

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From the accompanying article:

But when Anderson contacted the supposed landlord, something didn't feel right.

"They said we could look at the outside, but when we asked to do a walk through that’s when it became fishy," said Anderson, adding that the "landlord" wanted the cash sent via MoneyGram then she would be able to see the rest of the house.

It's hard to imagine anyone actually falling for such an obvious scam. Of course, the folks who caught it had taken the bait and started the process. However, they cut and ran quickly when things got, well, "weird," for lack of a better term.

At this point, with all the online listing scams out there, anything listed at more than 10-15% below market prices is not someone who is just looking to give out a deal, it's a scam. When the listing is so below the market AND only available on Craigslist, that's as close as you can come to a guaranteed scam.

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Honeymoon Ruined by Online Rental Scam - Couple Loses $3k

This one comes from the "can you even imagine" file. We've heard and seen a lot of heartbreaking stories related to rental scammers lately. This one doesn't quite take the cake because these newlyweds seem genuinely happy despite losing $3,000 on a phony rental in Seattle. Worse yet, they had planned to bring their entire family with them, which had to make it even harder to break the news to everyone.

The new bride was in charge of booking the accomodations and did an otherwise admirable job of vetting this transaction. She had exchanged 50 EMAILS with the eventual scammer and called him on the phone. From 2,000 miles away, she really couldn't have asked for any more contact.

So how did the Craigslist Scammer get over on her? Here's the gist from Seattle's Fox Affiliate:

“You wouldn’t think a scammer would give me a phone number that works and answer it, but this person did,” said fellow victim Angela Miceli.

Miceli agreed to wire $3,000 in cash for a two-week stay for her entire family.

“The scammer, he even used the name of the person who owned the house,” Miceli said.

She added that they tried to verify the owner, did a background check on him, and exchanged up to 50 emails over the last few months.  On Thursday, the man answered his phone and said he was waiting for the couple to arrive.

When they got to the front steps, Miceli said, a property manager shared the shocking news: “This is a scam … (and you) are the fourth people this summer at this property that it has happened to.”

It was easy for the con artist — all he had to do was a quick search, pick a house and pose as the owner.

Q13 Fox News found the same home on vacationrentals.com.

“I just started crying,” Miceli said. “What do you do? We had all of our bags. He said he was going to be there.”

Then in a bizarre email, the man promised to refund her saying, “I’m very sorry for my actions. Please find a place in your heart to forgive me.”

When the couple called the man, there was no answer on the line.

Q13 Fox News called the same number on Friday but no one picked up.

From the accompanying video you get the impression that this 4 digit money loss isn't going to cause them to miss much of a beat, but what a bummer! 

You can never be too careful, but it's almost hard to imagine taking more steps to verify the authenticity. Let's hope this scammer is caught sooner than later because he sounds like a regular Frank Abagnale!

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Mystery Solved: Hurricane WV House Swarmed Because of Craigslist Scam

Listing your home can be an incredibly nerve wracking process. Every owner and agent's worst nightmare is to hear a deafening chorus of crickets after announcing a listing. One homeowner in Hurricane, WV had the complete opposite problem - there were so many people coming to look at his home that the foot traffic almost never stopped.

For some reason, none of them called in advance and everyone who inquired in person wanted to rent it. Oops. 

Of course, you know what comes next. A scammer found owner Tom Hartman's "For Sale" listing and converted it into a nice rental listing, complete with a bargain basement deal.

Hartman talked to WSAZ News Channel 3 in Hurricane about his story. Video below: 

As Hartman said, the scammer was obviously very good at making the listing look legitimate and the crowds showing up prove that.

Unfortunately, even if you're not looking to rent, as a home seller you have to be vigilant and check places like Craigslist and Zillow for phony listings of your home. Typically the scammer will take a for sale listing and create their own "for rent" posting to try to score some quick bucks off of a deposit.

In hot housing markets, scams, frauds and impostors are a reality that cannot be escaped. Stay savvy out there!

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Grand Rapids Family Rendered Homeless by Craigslist Scammer

Grand Rapids PD appear not to be readily equipped to deal with online rental scammers. When told about a family who was scammed all the way to homelessness by a phony Craigslist posting, the PD told them to give the local NBC affiliate's news station a call. That being said, if it's good enough for the PD, we might as well take a look at their coverage now:

The reporters make a great point, that we may have actually missed in our dozens of articles about property management scams. To put it briefly, 

Don't let your emotions about finding a great deal get in the way of common sense. Run your great deal by an neutral party and ask them for their take.

This is truly sage advice, and from local news of all places!

No wonder Grand Rapids PD is sending complaints of fraud straight to this news station. Maybe they should do a little ride along with some of their journalists and learn how to do real investigating!

No malice is intended here towards the PD as we're sure they're busy going after violent criminals and not small time crooks.

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2013: Year of the Vacation Rental Scam

It's an ages old maxim, but apparently cannot be repeated enough:

"If it seems to good to be true, it probably is"

Let's face it, vacations are expensive. You could scour the web for awesome airline and hotel deals and probably find a nice savings. However, venture over to individual listing websites like Craigslist for vacation rentals and you're really rolling the dice.

There's nothing worse than something going wrong on a vacation, like delayed or missing a flight, car problems, someone getting sick just prior to leaving, or even a bad sunburn on the beach. But what if you arrived at your destination only to find that the great rental you thought you found a steal on, turns out to have permanent residents living there and you have nowhere to stay. Some people are forced by budget constraints to turn tail and head home. What would you tell your friends and family you've been bragging to for a couple weeks about the amazing and cheap vacation you're about to embark on?

Don't let that happen to you. Craigslist can be great, but it can also be a nightmare for finding room and board.

If something just seems a little off and doesn't add up, walk away. Here's a little video from NightCapTv to help with red flags and what they might mean:

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Huntsville AL Could Become "Scammer's Market"

All across the South, there are sizzling housing markets in 2013. From San Antonio to Atlanta, rentals and sales are on the upswing. Huntsville, AL is another one of those areas. By now, we've seen that the scams follow the sizzle and Huntsville is feeling that sting.

The key to steering clear of all the scams that are presented to you, seemingly on a daily basis, is vigilance. Vigilance is the only assurance that a fast talking scammer will eventually be rooted out and thwarted.

In Huntsville, a newlywed who also happens to be a realtor was looking to offload her 1600 square foot home, in order to find something bigger for her new family. She was using another agent to sell the home who caught a scammer listing this $155k home for rent for a measly $700 per month. 

The video newscast from WHNT in Huntsville has more details:

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Bakersfield Rental Scams: Is Tope Jelugbo a Scammer or a Victim?

Let's start this edition of RET off with a video and then decide who's telling the truth:

What do you think? Is Jelugbo telling the truth about this being a "job" for him and not understanding that this was illegal because he just moved here from Nigeria? It's hard to believe him once the details come out about all the deception involved. It's one thing to have a language barrier, but quite another to have to recite a false narrative, time after time and hide the truth.

Of course, he could just be a patsy who maintained limited contact with the victim named in the case, but that's pretty unlikely. 6 Felony counts will probably not stick in a case like this unless Jelugbo has a prior history of fraudulent activity, which, if he's telling the truth, could only have happened in his home country of Nigeria.

You also have to wonder about Jelugbo's willingness to pretend he was someone that he was not, namely a woman, because that would also indicate someone who has no problem with making money through deception. This will hurt his defense, undoubtedly.

This is our legal analysis for the year, so we hope you enjoyed it!

More info from the source article <here>

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Heartbreaking Story - Recently Homeless Woman Scammed

The evening news often brings us stories of heartbreak where people have lost their homes due to financial ruin, natural disasters, fire, floods and other major catastrophes.

Sometimes you'll see follow up stories after the community has reached out to help those who have had their lives turned upside down by such tragedies. In the new era of online scammers who use Craigslist, VRBO, Zillow and the like to create fake rental listings, this was bound to happen, but is no less heartbreaking.

Her name is Lynette Diessen of Omaha, NE and here is a little bit of her story, as furnished by WOWT in Nebraska:

After being homeless for several months, Lynette Diesen is finally getting back on her feet.

"We've been looking for a house for about a month now. We have been living at the Lydia House since December 2nd, and one of the case managers here gave me a stack of houses to go look at," said Diesen.

She called one of the names listed on a property, then drove out to see it. Loving what she saw, she contacted the supposed homeowner.

"And he said well, I need your money and I will send you the keys," said Diesen.

The supposed homeowner claimed to live in New Jersey, which made Diesen uneasy. She went to see the home again, this time running into a neighbor, Dee Harold.

"And I said I think it is another scam, I said before you do anything please check it out.," said Harold.

Not only was it a scam, the scam artists was using the name of the previous homeowner; a man who has been dead for a few years.

Here's the full story:

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Common Sense Recommended for Hoosiers by BBB

Folks from the Hoosier state love a great comeback story, but recovering from a 3 or 4 digit loss in the bank account is not what they have in mind. With that being said, the BBB of Indiana is warning against turning over big sums of money to people pitching deals on vacation rentals that are too good to be true. Once again Craigslist postings are the main culprit and the chief reason for the warning.

There is absolutely nothing new here about the warning or the signs to look out for. A news station in Indy, with a clever name "INC," which stands for Indiana's News Center has sent out the beacon.

Here's a snippet from the print story which accompany's the video below: 

Officials say you need to do your homework when you've found something online -- to make sure the offer is legitimate.

A credible owner will always accept a credit card, so never wire cash or write a check as a down payment or way to pay the rest of the balance.

And beware of anything you find on Craigslist, Facebook or other social media, where frauds work very well.

And now for the video -  

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July 2013: Gone Fishin'

Everyone deserves a break and that includes our staff. Here's hoping every one of our readers enjoyed a nice vacation and stayed out of the way of those who seek to separate you from your money and give nothing in return.

August articles will be coming hard and fast!

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Martha's Vineyard Hit With Rental Scams

A lot of very astute and clever folks have put themselves in the position to own property in Martha's Vineyard. They didn't get there by taking a loss on many things, most of all their real estate.

It's hard to imagine someone who is even in the position to rent a place in Martha's Vineyard not knowing their way around the real estate market and what are appropriate prices for vacation rentals.

That being said, a sucker is born every minute. Even rich suckers. As the reader, by now I'm sure that you're ready for the ridiculous scenario. Well, you're in for a treat.

For what some would pay for a week nice Holiday Inn (no offense to those folks) in an upscale location, there were people willing to believe that the same price was available for an entire MONTH at a rental on the island of Martha's Vineyard.

Now, we hate to break it to you, but there aren't any reported victims of this scam, no not yet. But you'd have to wonder what would make these scammers think they could get away with such a ridiculous listing. For now we'll assume that nobody is buying it, though it'd be hard to shed a tear for someone who lost even 3 months worth on this one. Chances are that if they're looking to rent in Martha's, they could probably take the hit.

Read the entire article on Martha's Vineyard Patch.

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Chicago Rental Scams on the Radar

The BBB of Chicago and Northern IL has some details on the latest rental scams plaguing the area. It seems these days as if nothing is getting cheaper, therefore a great deal is tough to pass up.

This is how the con artist sticks around like the cockroach he or she is. Make no mistake, they thrive in an up or a down economy, but the down economy scams are somehow more sinister. 

The BBB, for better or worse, definitely serves the public interest when they inform about ongoing and documented scams. Knowledge is power, and they have plenty of it.

So if you're headed to the Windy City whoe gorgeous summer weather attracts visitors from all over the country, beware of who is ready to ruin your vacation before it even gets underway.

Here, they are, just the facts ma'am , about CHI-Town summer rental scams, straight from the BBB:

· Search the property. Check out the property before paying anything. Do an online search of the property, with names, phone numbers and addresses in the ad. If you can’t find search results saying the property is for sale, it probably isn’t.

· Communicate with the agent. Talk to the agent over the phone, not via email. Be careful of foreign area codes or strange American ones. When emailing, watch for bad grammar or the person not responding.

· Don’t pay with a debit card. When submitting money, credit cards or PayPal are the safest options. Never use a debit card or wire transfer because these are the payment methods that scammers prefer.

· Verify the agent or the owner. If working with a real estate agent, always check his or her qualifications. Search licensing information for both with the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials.

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Summer Rental Fraud Heating Up in Cali

There are more and more vacation rental scams coming out every day and they're starting to slowly emerge from the Golden State, California.

Of course that no surprise, since we're deep in to summer and who from the DOESN'T want to head out West to CA? The big bucks that are being exchanged has invited the scammers in like the cockroaches that they are.

One famous community and landmark (it's home to the RMS Queen Mary), Long Beach, is seeing enough in the fraud department to necessitate their PD to come out with information. Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) who's usually more busy with more physically harmful matters, made a statement about several of what we at RET would call "garden variety rental scams."

The warning went out on the wires last week and here are the bullet points as printed on nearby Signal Hill's online paper:

• Unrealistic prices Large, single-family homes offered for rent at a fraction of a reasonable amount, such as a 5,300-square-foot home renting for $800 to $1,500

• No personal interaction The complete rental process (application, rental transaction, and other miscellaneous paperwork) being done exclusively over the Internet or telephone, with no personal, face-to-face interaction

• No keys sent as promised Prospective tenants are told to wire the security deposit or rental payment to an out-of-state address via Western Union or U.S. mail. They are advised that the rental agreement and/or keys will be mailed to them after the payment has been sent.

• Suspects using “for sale” properties to hook and scam prospective tenants Prospective tenants searching the Internet locate a potential rental property, but when they drive by for further consideration, they discover it has a “for sale” sign posted. They seek clarification by phoning the Internet contact person and are told to disregard the sign. The leaser may also direct the prospective tenant to neither disturb the current residents nor call the listed realtor, since the leaser doesn’t want anyone to dispute his story. The unsuspecting applicant proceeds with the application process, in good faith, but later realizes it’s a scam.

Once again, if there's any doubt in your mind about the behavior of a vacation rental landlord, go with that feeling. If it seems like something isn't adding up, it probably isn't.

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Georgia Woman Scammed Out of $6k From Fake Florida Vacation Listing

This one stings quite a bit. Typically online real estate or rental scams end with 3 digit losses for the victim. Occasional it will top $1,000. However, in this case, a woman who thought she was getting the deal of the summer lost enough to buy a quality used car, two 50 yard line season tickets to the Atlanta Falcons or a 14 Day Mediterranean cruise with all the amenities.

Sadly, this woman from Dacula, GA, who was not named in the article, will be feeling much lighter in the pocketbook for the rest of the summer.

The $6k that she lost was for a week's stay at a Florida beach rental (we realize these details are vague) which is still a pretty penny, even if she thought she was getting a deal. Most 4 Star Resorts wouldn't charge that much per night.

The story was printed in the Dacula Patch and has not been resolved.

From the article: 

On June 10, the woman paid $6,025 in the form of a bank-to-bank transfer to purchase a one-week stay at a Florida rental property in response to an advertisement on a vacation rental website. After the woman transferred the funds, the administrators of the website removed the ad and indicated they believed the offer was fraudulent.

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Stevie's Scam School: A visual guide from a reformed scam artist about how to avoid an online rental scam.

In this scam, the scammer places a fake ad for a rental property on a genuine site, asking for an up-front payment to secure the house. Often the property 'owner' claims to be overseas, and can only accept bond or rent via a money transfer service. Remember, never send pay your bond via a money transfer. Also, be wary if the rent price is much lower than you would expect. If it sounds too good to be true - it probably is.

Here's a list of things to look out for, to protect yourself:

Avoid Common Red Flags (source: http://apartments.about.com/od/apartmenthunting/a/How-To-Recognize-And-Avoid-Apartment-Rental-Scams.htm) 

Here are some common red flags to help you spot and avoid rental scams while looking for an apartment:

You're asked to send money without having met anyone or seen the apartment. It's not common to pay a lot of money for something sight-unseen. So, if a landlord expects you topay a lot before you lease an apartment, it's a reason to be concerned. Don't rely on promises or photos, but actually visit any apartment you're considering renting. According to a warning on Craigslist, not following this one rule accounts for 99% of scam attempts.

The landlord seems too eager to lease the apartment to you. Many landlords want to know your credit score, and they may also want more information about you, such as a criminal background check and employment verification. If a landlord doesn't seem interested in any from of tenant screening or appears too eager to negotiate the rent and other lease terms with you, it's suspicious.

You're asked to pay an unusually high security deposit or too many upfront fees. If the landlord wants a higher security deposit than what's required by law, or if upfront fees seem excessive to you, it could be a sign that the landlord wants to take your money and run.

You feel unwarranted sales pressure. If a landlord acts too pushy, it can be a red flag.

You're told you don't need a lawyer. It's true you don't need a lawyer to review your lease, and generally speaking, it's in a landlord's best interest for you to skip lawyer review and just take the rental. But when a landlord makes a point of saying that you don't need a lawyer, it could be a sign that the landlord is trying to rush you into signing the lease and handing over money, perhaps because he doesn't really own the building or already leased the apartment to someone else.

You're told you don't need a lease. It's true you don't need a lease to live in an apartment. Although renting an apartment under a lease is the most typical situation, but amonth-to-month rental agreement is fairly common. But only you know what you need. If a landlord tries to get money from you without considering that you might want a lease, think twice. It could be that the "landlord" doesn't have any lease to show you.

The landlord has a convenient excuse for not being able to meet you or show the property. The person behind a listing might say he's out of the country indefinitely or that he won't return until after you would need to agree to the rental and pay money.

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Bizarre Scene Plays Out After Inland Empire Woman Scammed on Craigslist

Too good to be true once again is just that.

The details about the con artists are a little shaky, but it seems as if this is a real person that the victim met in the flesh. He was, of course, misrepresenting himself.

The victim, Shanita Williams, fell prey to a man who claimed to be Edwin Smith, the landlord of an overhauled 3 bedroom home with a low-low price of $975/month.

What after Williams forked over her cash and moved in to the house, is nothing short of bizarre. From "The San Bernadino Sun" online:

Williams said it started June 13, two days after she moved into the house, when a woman who claimed she was the one who was renting the house showed up at the front door. A visit by Upland real-estate agent Jeanette Tapia, who was showing the home for DCI Investments, followed.

"They were screaming and yelling at me. She (Tapia) said we needed to get our stuff and get out now," Williams said. "There were three guys with her with baseball bats."

Reached by telephone Thursday, Tapia, a former San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy of 16 years, declined to comment. She did say she would be reaching out to the state Department of Real Estate and the Association of Realtors to inform them of the situation.

On June 13, Tapia posted on her Facebook page a fraud alert, warning potential renters to be wary of Craigslist ads and to contact a real-estate agent.

Bill Steel, the attorney representing DCI Investments, said the company has never heard of an Edwin Smith and that DCI does not have a lease agreement with Williams.

"DCI didn't get any of this money," Steel said Thursday. "There's someone out there who's perpetrating fraud on tenants and property owners."

What a nightmare for Williams, not to mention the property management company!

This "Edwin Smith" is a serious con artist and needs to be apprehended, if only to prevent any more dangerous situations like Shanita Williams found herself in.