The Money Order Rental Scam
September 13, 2008 at 3:26 pm | Posted in Rental Scams | 4 CommentsScammers will try to make the victim feel as comfortable as possible. Here is one way they do it.
- Scammer posts rental ad on a large free classifieds site and makes rental price extremely low
- The victim finds the ad and wants to rent the property
- Communication between the scammer and victim begins
- Scammer tells victim he is out of the country on business
- To ensure the victim has funds. the scammer asks the victim to wire money ($2,000) to any of the victims friends. This is suppose to make the victim feel better because they are wiring it to their own friend
- The scammer asks to see the receipt that funds have been transfered to the victims friend through MoneyGram
- With Money orders, the recipient can pick up the funds anywhere in the world. With the information on the receipt, the scammer picks up the money.
Online and Offline Rental Scam – Beware (Video)
September 12, 2008 at 8:05 pm | Posted in Local Rental Scams | Leave a commentThe Rental Scam (Local Scam):
- Scammer sees a for rent house on the street
- Scammer posts that information on Craigslist as if it was their home
- Scammer changes the locks on the house by breaking in
- Renter signs contract with scammer not knowing it is not his/her home
Avoiding these types of scams:
- Go to the rental companies office
- Check to see if rental company has a liscense
- Make sure landlords name is on the rental agreement
- Ask for references of past tenants
- Search on Google under their name, company name or any other type of information
Rental Scammer – Remi Repp – UK
September 12, 2008 at 6:44 pm | Posted in Known Rental Scammers | 2 CommentsKnown rental scammer. Information on the type of email they send out below.
Emails: Remirepp@yahoo.com and remirepp@inmail24.com
Hello,
How are you doing hope it’s great over there, my name is Remi Repp from united state but am presently in (UK,LONDON) working with an oil company. my phone number is +447024807548 free free to call me if the you wish to give out the Rent to me.
But now I will like going for my holiday leave and it just for ten month but I will like staying in the state six month or more than that.
The main reason why am writing this is that I need a standard room or apartment in any state in United State and I can also share room or apartment with anybody for you to contact me this is my Email Address : Remirepp@yahoo.com
Thanks
Remi
Nigerian Rental Scams
September 12, 2008 at 5:33 pm | Posted in Rental Scams, Tips to Avoid Scams | Leave a commentFraudGuides posted a good post on how to detects nigerian rental scams.
Rental Scam Warning Signs
- You are contacted via email regarding a property.
- The request comes from outside the country.
- There is a sense of urgency.
- Third parties become involved.
- You will be over-payed
How to avoid Nigerian rental scams
- Do not let someone pay more than you asked for.
- Do a web search for the renter’s name to see what comes up.
- If the payment arrives in the form of a money order, inspect it carefully in case it’s a counterfeit. Despite your best attempts to determine its authenticity, it may still turn out to be a forgery.
- Do not let someone else use your name or Social Security number to buy a property, especially if they offer to pay you for using it.
- Don’t do anything until the money order or check clears the bank. You could be pressured to act sooner and you might even receive threats. Don’t give into anything. Nigerian scams depend on you sending money to someone before the money order clears the bank.
The Potential Resident Renter Scam
September 12, 2008 at 4:42 pm | Posted in Rental Scams | 7 CommentsTags: Rental Scams
The most common rental scam is when a potential renter is interested in your property. Here is how it works:
- The scammer finds your rental ad on a classifieds site.
- The scammer will contact you directly via email (Example Here). There are common themes (out of country, usually the UK, commonly references God, poor spelling and grammer, email address most commonly an @yahoo address, sometimes says they are a Reverend or Doctor.)
- The property owner or property manager does not know this is a scam and replies to the email with the information.
- The Scammer replies that they would like to rent the property but will not be able to see it because they are outside of the US. They say they will send a certified cashiers check.
- The certified cashiers check is received and the total is usually $1,000 – $2,000 over the deposit and first months rent amount.
- The scammer says they made a mistake and sent too much money and asks if they can have the remaining $1 – 2 thousand sent back to them.
- It takes 2 – 3 days for any bank to recognize a cashiers check as being fake.
- The unexpected property owner or manager thinks the money is already in the bank so they have no problem wiring the excess $1 – 2K back to the “potential renter”
- The Scammer recieves the funds and is never heard of again.
If this has happend to you in the past, please tell us your story in the comments below. If you need to contact the authorities you can find that information here.
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