(Part 1) – Fraud and Scams on Craigslist –
What Do These Look Like?

You’re looking for new digs – and know just where to find the perfect place; you want to buy another car, and know just where to search for one. Perhaps you have a place you want to rent or a car you want to sell and you know just the place for advertising them – Craigslist! With their goal of keeping online classifieds local, simple and (for the most part) free, there’s no question about it; Craigslist has become quite an online phenomenon. Constantly one of the top 50 websites sites visited, this website, for one offering local ads, has attracted literally a worldwide following. However, along with this following Craigslist has attracted a very unsavory element of scammers as well.

In this Tech Tip, we’ll be looking specifically at some specific areas of fraud that seem to be hitting Craigslist these days in regards to rentals and items offered for sale

While scams and fraud do occur on many websites where buying and selling occur, they seem to be almost epidemic on Craigslist these days. Though some of these scams may seem obvious, criminals still use them again and again (often accompanied with poor grammar) for the simple fact that they continue to work. Without further ado, here are some of the common scams that are appearing on Craigslist.

For people placing an ad for a rental, some common fraudulent activities are:

• A person contacts you from out of the area (usually overseas) and really wants to rent your listing. They send you a check or money order over the total amount due rent and then have you send the amount of overage back to them (usually by Western Union or some other wire service); this is a scam pure and simple. You will be out the amount you send back once the check (or money order) is found to be a fake (it is interesting that they send you a check or money order, but want the money "refunded" to them to be wired).

• A person takes the information from the property you’re listing and relists it as their own. These people are also usually from out of the area. This leads to all sorts of issues as the same property can be “rented” several times – by you (legitimately) and by the scammers.

• A person actually rents your place then turns around and by representing themselves as the owner, re-rent it to several people before skipping town.

For people looking for a home or apartment to rent:

• You contact the person from the ad (usually via e-mail) and they explain that they are out of the area, but the place it still for rent. They may ask for key deposits so you can “look” at the place and then will often try and create a sense of urgency so they can elicit the bigger ticket items such as security deposits and first and last month’s rent. Really, anything else they can think of and have it wired to them. Usually these ads are ones copied from legit ads either on Craigslist or other rental sites – but at lower (but still believable) rental rates. Like all scams, money leaves your pocket never to return.

• You click on an ad for a very good looking and well priced rental only to be directed to call an 800 number. Usually, these end up being scammers that have no intention of renting the property at the price they listed, but want you to buy “foreclosure what is cialis used for lists” instead. Extra bonus for the scammers if they get a good credit card number with a large limit.

• Classic bait and switch, even if you literally watched the ad be placed, when you call the property is not available, but this other one is….

• The person renting the house may be local, but they do not actually own the house. They either just rented it themselves or, worse yet, are advertising a vacant home that someone is trying to sell or that is bank owned. Some may claim that they are renting it on “behalf of the owner” as well. The person “renting” the property collects several deposits, several first and last rents and leaves town. In addition to the money, the scammers now have several key pieces of personal information on the persons scammed.

For people selling or buying an item on Craigslist:

• Sellers: A person contacts you (usually out of the area) and really wants to buy your item. They offer to pay more than it is worth (works great for small, pricey items that are easy to mail) or “accidently” pay you over the amount and look for you to send the difference back to them (sound familiar? Look at item 1 for personal placing ads for rentals above). Even for large items (such as furniture), they’ll ask to pay with check and arrange to have it shipped to them; again, the check will be “accidently” over the amount asked for, and you’re asked for a refund. It may seem strange for you to be sending someone else money when you were the one selling and that’s because IT IS STRANGE!

• Buyers: The item is not just a bargain, but it is a BARGAIN (think of a car that is well below the current Kelly Blue Book price or a laptop computer at a price too good to be true). This bargain is usually out of the area and would need to be shipped to you. An escrow service is perhaps offered to
  help facilitate the purchase (many are also sent up fraudulently just to facilitate such a scam)

  Bottom Line, you send money-you get nothing.

Some scams and fraud and very easy to detect, but others can be difficult as criminals get more and more sophisticated. This list is by no means complete, but can give you a general outline of some common scams that are still used. Knowledge is power, so it is good to be aware of some of these tactics used by scammers before you put down your hard earned money.

Now that you know what to look for, in next week’s Tech Tip, we’ll look at some ways to avoid scams and fraud on Craigslist.