Room for Rent and other rental scams
#206747 by Tronburger Thu Jun 19, 2014 10:13 pm
I am hoping someone replies before I need to go to the appointment tomorrow

I placed an ad on craigslist about looking for a short term rental

Had some normal replies, but one contacted me about seeing a place and sent me a video.

He then asked me if I was interested in his rentals that are per room. gave me a price. I said yes then he asked for a time to meet tomorrow and gave me his number. I gave him mine told him to call me. Which he did and organised a 10am viewing in the morning. All sounded normal.

Price seems a bit low. I red flagged the video. I am unsure what to expect if I attend tomorrow. I have googled everything, names, apartment his email. But nothing is coming up. I am not sure

Most scams I have researched are people handing money over before they have seen the place. I can't put my finger on what this might be. I probably won't go, I was actually wanting to out of curiosity but I think its not a good idea, you know what they say about the cat.

I seriously have spent the last 2 hours trying to find a similar scam but I can't find anything??

Any thoughts?

Thanks :)
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#206749 by Bryon Williams Thu Jun 19, 2014 10:34 pm
You posted basic information.

If it is a scam the scammer will not show up. He will give you a reason for this.

Something in the conversations has set off red flags with you. Follow your gut and inner feeling.

If you decide to visit the property. Please take someone with you. Also tell him your brother is also supposed to stop by. If you are a female make sure you visit with a male.

Please contacta moferatorstor if you have a question or information about this post.



Please do not tell the scammer he is posted here.


Please remember the fallen. https://www.odmp.org/
#206822 by Dotti Fri Jun 20, 2014 9:43 am
The type of scam we typically deal with here is simple advance fee fraud. The scammer simply tries to rent out a place he does not own and has probably never even seen. If that is the case, then as Bryon said, the appointment will be cancelled.

But, that is not the only type of rental scam here in the US. There is another whole subset of scams in which the scammer WILL let you see the apartment/room. In this case, the thief does have access to the apartment, but he has no legal right to rent it.

The most common scenario is the illegal sublet (in some areas like New York City this is a huge issue and one you have to be very concerned about.) The tenant of an apartment either moves out and rents it to someone else under the table, or he/she invites someone else to share the apartment without updating the rental agreement, or he/she even turns their apartment into an illegal motel. NYC rent control laws make illegal sublets very profitable, because someone who has had a rent-controlled apartment may be paying far below market value for rent--so he/she keeps the apartment, paying the low rent, and then rents it out to someone else at the current market rate, pocketing the difference. The problem with illegal sublets is that the scammer is not the only one to pay for the crime--if/when the arrangement is discovered, the illegal renter is typically evicted in a very short time-frame, and usually ends up with no home (and no deposit)

The other common scam is basically a variant of advance-fee fraud that is carried out face-to-face. Anyone with access to the property can pose as a landlord, give a tour, collect a deposit, and disappear. This has happened many times before with tenants who are leaving, people with maintenance access, even family members of the owners or house-sitters while the owners are on vacation.

Ultimately, what it comes down to is the fact that you have to verify that the person taking your money actually has the right to rent out the property. In many areas, you can look up tax records or property ownership information at no cost. If it is an apartment, you can talk to other tenants, neighbors, etc. Google is your friend as well.

Need to post photos? http://scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=3219
Are you a victim of a romance scam? Read here for advice and FAQ's.

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