Online rental scam attempt foiled in Arcadia
Photo by: MikeLove
An online rental scam was uncovered recently in Arcadia (CA), when a prospective renter became suspicious and sought to verify a To-Let advertisement at Craigslist. The ad was offering a home for rent but it looked shoddy and also offered an overseas number as the means for contacting the landowner.
The classified ad said the owner had relocated abroad and wished to offer the place for rent. It gave the address of the premises and invited those interested to feel free and have a look at the place by themselves. If satisfied, they were asked to send across a security deposit of $2000 through Western Union money transfer, on receipt of which the keys would presumably be sent to them.
On a hunch, one of the prospects decided to check out the offer and contacted a realtor connected to the house. A talk with the realtor revealed the house was empty and was in the market, but not for letting, as the ad claimed. The owners were offering the house for sale.
The local police came in. Their investigations unraveled the scam.
The original house-owners had placed a classified at Craigslist offering the place for sale. Some online fraudsters took over the ad, hacked it, and altered its contents to offer the home for rent and replaced the contact information of the original landlord with their own.
For the prospective renter, a little legwork saved him money and a lot of trouble.
Source: WhittierDailyNews.com
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