No, the dead are not coming back to life. A nigerian rental scammer has posted a house for rent claiming to be the deceased owner of the property. The scammer was able to research public records and find out who has owned this particular property in Pittsburgh. The scammer created a fake email address with the deceased owner’s name, and was attempting to rent the property. The current owner of the property has been notified of the fake ad.
March 26, 2009
March 13, 2009
The Foreclosure Rental Scams Continue…
Tim Dodge out of Columbus, OH was bamboozled into renting a house from a woman who did not own the home.
“I paid her $1,100 up front for the first two months rent,” Dodge said.
The scam was foiled when the owner who just filed for bankruptcy worked out a deal with his mortgage lender to prevent the house from being auctioned off. He arrived to find a unknown family living in his house. How awkward would that be to find a family living in your house? Anyhow, the two parties are working out a short-term rental agreement to allow the Dodges some time to find another place to rent. The fake woman landlord is still at large.
Source: Scammers Evolve, Use Craigslist To Pose As Landlords
March 4, 2009
$500 Rental Deposit + $51 Western Union Fee = Scammed!
A woman in Madison, WI fell victim to the the old Nigerian rental scam. A scammer by the name of Mike Moore from Lagos, Nigeria posted a property for rent that he did not own. The scammer convinced the woman to wire the security deposit to him in Nigeria. He later asked for another $1,400 for “complications” with the property. She contacted the police after he wanted the extra money.
Anyone else come across this scum bag, Mike Moore? If so, please post any emails that you have received from him, so we can warn others before they are scammed!
February 28, 2009
African Rental Scams - Don’t Rent from…
1) Ezekiel Linsey
“We are looking for a responsible person or family to occupy and maintain the apartment until we are back home,” wrote the person who proclaimed to be the owner, Ezekiel Linsey, in an e-mail. “Myself and wife just traveled to Africa for a program called Empowering Youth to Fight Racism, HIV/AIDS, Poverty and Lack of Education, the program is taking place in three major countries in Africa which are Rep. of Benin, South Africa and Nigeria.”
2) Shantal Petersen (more…)
February 25, 2009
Why is the Same Property For Rent at Two Very Different Prices?
A local real estate brokerage in Greesnboro, NC received this question when their property was one price in one ad and significantly lower in another. The problem that the real estate company is running into is that rental scammers especially in Nigeria are re-posting rental ads by legitimate property managers and landlords at bargain rent prices hoping that they can scam you out of a security deposit and upfront rent. A similar example of this happened in Memphis, TN. A renter was tempted by a rental scammer who advertised a house for rent that was legitimately for sale. The scammer even made up a phony email address with the owners name in a attempt to appear to be the real owner. See dave.erickson34@yahoo.com - Watch Out For This Scammer for more details. (more…)
February 14, 2009
Kailua, Hawaii Nigerian Rental Scam
Even residents in the beautiful state of Hawaii can become targets for the Nigerian rental scam. A family rented a house in Kailua, HI from a person who posted a ad on Craigslist. However, the real owner was not the one who posted the ad on Craigslist, and the real owner was not the one collecting rent (You have to wonder how they got keys to get into the place). The property was originally posted for rent on militarybyowner.com. Sources in Hawaii believe the scammers appear to be from Nigeria.
February 13, 2009
Sacramento Couple Finds Family Living in Empty For Sale Home
A couple in Sacramento were very surprised to find that their home which is for sale had a family living in it. The family produced a rental agreement that they signed with man who posted it for rent on Craigslist. Moreover, the family had been paying him $1,000 a month to live in the house that the man did not own!
Sacramento police offered these words of advice to potential renters:
Before entering into a rental agreement, police advise that the potential renter do some homework.
“The best thing is to do research on the place,” Leong said.
Keys are not a sign of legitimacy, as a scam artist could have had the locks changed.
Instead, potential renters can go online to the county recorder’s office to see who owns the house. They also can ask the alleged landlord for a property deed.
And if the landlord keeps his or her distance - refusing to offer a phone number, for example, or giving a P.O. Box - “that should be a red flag, too,” Leong said.
February 11, 2009
Sacramento Community Stops Rental Scammers
Phillis Powers, 52, Sandra Barney, 54, Carver Barney, 57, and Dennis Eugene, 49, are wanted by Sacramento police for alleged criminal trespass. Sgt. Norm Leong said all four people conspired to unlawfully enter the house on 3700 Clubside Lane.
A community in Sacramento, CA spoiled the efforts of 4 rental scammers in an attempt to lease a vacant foreclosed home. Neighbors noticed some suspicious activity going on at the vacant house and called police. Police arrived to find a relative of the Barney’s who cleaning out the house.
February 2, 2009
Classic Out of Country Landlord Scam
From MSNBC.com, Casey Guthrie found a house that he wanted to rent in Milford, CT. He emailed the person who posted the ad to find out more about the property; however, he was given all the classic signs of a Nigerian rental scam. Below are some dead giveaways from the scammer in this particular instance:
“I contacted the people and they informed me they were from Nigeria and they were missionaries,” Guthrie said.
Strike 1 - Missionaries in Nigeria
They emailed him a rental application. The emails contained lots of biblical quotes and stories from Africa.
Strike 2 - Biblical quotes to attempt to appear trustworthy.
When he asked about payment, they told him to wire the first month’s rent and security deposit, a total of $2,000, via Western Union. That was the red flag.
Strike 3- Western Union - YOU ARE OUT! WESTERN UNION = SCAM!
Source: Craigslist Scam Warning by Lauren Petty
