Renters Beware: You’re The Next Target For Scammers
Posted by Michelle Moquin on June 28th, 2010
Many people have sadly lost their homes to foreclosure. Something they probably never imagined. And they probably never thought that after buying their first home they would ever need to enter the rental market again unless they chose to. But many people after losing their homes have no choice but to rent. If you are one of those, please be sure to read my post today. After going through the emotional loss of a home, the last thing you want to be is a victim of a scammer.
And if you’re trying to rent out your home to cover a mortgage that you can no longer afford, so that you can downsize to something more manageable, you’ll want to read too.
Whether you’re in the market to rent or looking to rent out your home, you could be locked in the sights of a rental scam trickster.
With more empty homes than ever — thanks to recession-driven foreclosures — rental scams are costing innocent victims a fortune, while landlords tenants face a continuing onslaught of advance payment Nigerian scams.
We have the details, 12 suspicious signals to watch for, and some simple steps you can take to avoid getting snared.
Empty Homes Open the Door to a Rental Scam
Rental scam artists are taking advantage of the flood of neglected, empty houses on the real estate market caused by the huge increase in recession-driven foreclosures.
Homes owned by banks and other financial institutions may take months or even years to sell, leaving them unchecked for the duration and sitting targets for the scammers.
In one recently reported case, an individual lived in and paid rent on a house for 15 months before discovering it was a rental scam and that the ”landlord” didn’t own the house.
Often, the crooks gain entry by breaking open lock boxes, and sometimes they even change the locks so the real owners or their representatives can’t get in.
In addition, as we previously reported, rental scams for apartments advertised on the Internet are also on the rise — with both owners and renters falling victim.
Readers: Click here to read about scammers posting their rental ads on Craigslist.
Scams targeting renters
Most commonly, the con artists merely copy listings of genuine house and apartment sales or rentals, re-advertising them with a different email address or phone number (usually a cell phone).
Or they tour neighborhoods and scour newspaper legal notices, to identify empty, foreclosed homes that they can commandeer.
If the scammers can break in, they’ll happily show their victims around, posing as either the owner or an agent. If not, they’ll claim they’re out of the country or make some other excuse as to why they can’t show you the home.
But these con artists will send photos (also “lifted” from the original ads or realtor listings) and maybe even a set of fake keys in exchange for the rental payment — thereby delaying victims’ discovery that they’ve been scammed.
A particularly sneaky trick that targets would-be renters happens when the scammer actually does rent a home.
He then advertises it as being available, showing the place to prospective tenants while he lives there and collecting first and last month fees, and maybe an additional security deposit from each one, before skipping the scene.
Rental scams targeting owners
Many of the cases where owners are the rental scam victims bear all the signs of an advance payment Nigerian scam, tricking the victim into forwarding electronic cash to the crook.
In these cases, the scammer usually claims to be out of the country and may also tell a convincing tale suggesting the rent will be paid by a relative who owes them money, a corporate sponsor or an international charity or aid agency.
In each case, the owner receives a check for more than the rental cost, with a request that the balance should be forwarded to the “renter.” The check bounces, of course, and the owner is out of pocket for the cash they wired.
Readers: Tomorrow, I’ll tell you the 12 signs of a rental scam. Stay tuned. :)
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Doug: I thought so too. :)
Lloyd: Some people might have a difficult time believing everything that you wrote. Not me. I have heard and written some form of much of what you said, here. But I am a conspiracy theorist, so it is not hard for me to believe what may seem unbelievable to others.
Harry: You can blame whomever you want as long as it is not me. :) And no, why would I be? Zen Lill contributes to my blog via her talent and attributes. We may have some commonalities between us, but I am a lover of diversity, so I appreciate our differences, and her presence here, and I know my readers do too.
George: Nice to hear from you again. I see some things never change.
Cathy: Thank you. Your day sounded perfectly lovely.
Maurice: Yes, my dear friend Elliot. I am not sure how much he reads my blog these days but I’ll mention to him that my readers are asking for him.
Mathew: A civilized society is one that is polite and well-mannered, actions…a way of behaving that is not just directed toward whites, but all in a civilized society. And to answer your question: Uh…Simple. Because maybe the way one sees it isn’t always the truth. And sometimes the truth is skewed to justify one’s actions.
Jack: I hear you and I feel the same way. My sentiments exactly. Maybe somebody ought to do a video on that. :)
Harris: Right on. I bet you are so correct.
Sissy: Love it.
Mark: I can’t say that that thought didn’t cross my mind. But Norman, you made some interesting points to consider.
Jeff: Thanks for letting me know. :)
Linda: The vote was 5-4, splitting along conservative and liberal lines. The really means the split was along those bought-and-paid-for, and liberal lines. In regards to your husband, I suggest you get a pink lady revolver and strap it to your thigh. 1) He’ll probably get turned on, but more importantly 2) If he forces you to do anything you don’t want to, you can use it, and claim self defense. Ahaha!
Got to run. Peace out. Blog me.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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June 28th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Hi Mischa, that Afghanistan article is disturbing in many ways to me, my first question was…just HOW recent was this ‘discovery’ made, could it be that it’s been the underpinnings of all this warring from the jumpstart? Oh so many more q’s were inspired by that one question that I will set about researching more info on that also. Tahnks for making me think everyday although my list fo things to research just keeps getting longer and longer…!
I’m on the fly today but I did catch the complimentary comments re: my pics and I will get some more to Mischa…I’ll send a few profile shots hee hee apparently it, my ‘long and lovely’ nose, and then seeing my eyes finally (had on shades in outdoor restaurant) set a man’s heart aflutter on Saturday, hmmm, that’s a new one for me but whatever…maybe a nose fetish is under-rated : )
Caio for now, Zen Lill