Craigslist Rental Scam Targets the Area

There is a rental scam using Craigslist that has targeted some properties listed for sale on NorthstarMLS. Property information and photos are taken by criminals from public broker/agent Web sites and then listed as a rental home through a Craigslist classified ad at an unbelievably low rate. The landlord-who had to leave the country and travel to Nigeria-asks that you wire him two months’ worth of rent. You arrive at the home on the agreed-upon date, but there’s just one small problem-the house is not actually for rent and its owners know nothing about your agreement. This latest scam being perpetrated by Nigerian criminals located halfway around the world has been seen in a number of U.S. states, perhaps in response to the current housing market-with fewer people buying, more people are renting.

What to do if your listing is a victim of this scam

Email the details to abuse@craigslist.org. Be sure to include the URL (or 10-digit post ID number) in your message. For further recommendations, check out the Craigslist page on who to notify about fraud attempts. You may also report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center to help them determine the extent of the problem.

3 comments

#1KatieOctober 21, 2009, 12:51 pm

This isn’t confined to Nigeria. While looking for an apartment last year, I came across two seperate scams of the same caliber. One was a townhouse for rent in the Northwestern subburbs – but the owner and her family moved to London. Send money, I’ll send you the keys.

The other was for a lovely apartment across from the Guthrie. It even had the unit number! Same scam, different person – this time it wasn’t a London address, but a South Africa address.

Basically, don’t buy/rent anything without seeing the INSIDE first!

#2minnesota mlsOctober 26, 2009, 1:42 pm

I continue to be amazed by the various “scammers” out there that have time to pull these sorts of stunts!! Talk about just all around crazy?!?! Thanks for sharing this info Scott.

#3Property Investments PhoenixJanuary 7, 2010, 6:15 pm

These fraud artist spare no industry when trying to fish for suckers. It certainly isn’t just Nigeria, but Africa is a big-time cuplrit… many are European. I’m in both the real estate and sanitation industries and repeatedly get fishing attacks.

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