Special SCAMS Series:

This Blog is all about “Anti-Crime” in its various forms; I have been asked and have many requests to explain some of the variety of Scams that perpetuate the World Wide Web today. Thus, I have dedicated this Series, to both inform and with tips to avoid, current WWW scams. Each article will have this same heading of explanation, and translated into French, German, Spanish, and Russian languages [as also requested by the readers of this Blog]. Use these tips to help you avoid common scams.-Birdy

Bogus Apartment Rentals

It’s never a good idea to wire money to someone you’ve never met for an apartment you haven’t seen.

The Bait:

In your search for an apartment or vacation rental, you find a great prospect at a great price. It can be yours if you wire money – for an application fee, security deposit, or the first month’s rent. The owners might say they’re out of the country. But they have a plan to get the keys into your hands. It might involve a lawyer or “agent” working on their behalf.

The Catch:

Once you’ve wired the money, it’s gone. Then, you learn there is no rental. A scammer hijacked a legitimate rental listing by changing the contact information and placing the altered ad on other sites. Or, there never was a rental. A scammer made up a listing for a place that isn’t for rent or doesn’t exist, using a below-market price to lure you in.
If you’re the one with a rental property, watch out for the reverse: a potential renter who says she wants to cancel her deposit and asks you to wire the money back – before you realize the check is a fake.

What You Can Do:

There’s never a good reason to wire money to cover a security deposit, an application fee, or a first month’s rent.

If you can’t visit the rental yourself, ask someone you trust to see it for you.
Be skeptical of landlords who say they’re out of the country; don’t wire money to someone overseas.
Do a search to see if the same listing is listed elsewhere with a different name or phone number.

If you find yourself the target of a rental scam, report it to your local law enforcement and also to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint. Contact the website where the ad was posted, as well.

Report Online Scams

If you believe you’ve responded to an online scam, file a complaint with:

The Federal Trade Commission
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center
Your state Attorney General

Translate

Monday, October 15, 2012