Craigslist Rental Scams. Tenant and Landlord beware!

I have now heard three reports of rental scams on Craigslist.

While it is unlikely that any cognizant and responsible person would fall for the "Mail the deposit to me in Nigeria, and I will send the keys back" scam, the possible inconvenience for Landlords is less easily dismissed.

My friend Cheryl had the experience of having people cruising her Raleigh rental home while she was there. It was a little disconcerting to her that strange people would slow down and stare, while she was working in the yard and cleaning and doing a little painting.

Then I called her and mentioned that her home was listed "For Rent" on Craigslist. With her name in a Yahoo email address. And rent advertised at $700/month.

She was astounded. The Yahoo email address was bogus, even with her name on it. The rent for the property was $900. No wonder she had seen so much traffic! A few of us got together and flagged the ad off Craigslist.
Cheryl had advertised the rental on Rent.com, where it had been scraped.

It has happened since to two other acquaintances in the Cary office of Keller Williams Realty, where legitimate listings on Triangle MLS or Rent.com have been scraped and relisted with minor changes. The rent is always well below market, to spur traffic for the scammers.

One acquaintance who followed through on it got the email. "Silly me. I carried my keys back to Africa. I will mail them to you as soon as I receive your money order for the deposit."
You just have to hope no one is falling for that one...