Feb. 21, 2008 - Don't fall victim

Consumer Fraud Alert

As a CENTURY 21 Sales Associate, I find this fraud to be especially disturbing.  There is a rental scam involving the unauthorized use of the CENTURY 21® brand name, website and email address.

The scammer uses online classified ad services such as Craigslist.org to post bogus offers. The victim is told that the renter is “travelling”, “vacationing abroad” or “relocating”. The victim is required to pay a deposit via Western Union in exchange for the “keys” to the property.

In an effort to instill confidence in this transaction, the scammer fraudulently claims to have listed the apartment with a local CENTURY 21® office and arranges for a fraudulent email notification posing as a CENTURY 21® representative (and using CENTURY 21® logos) to be sent to the victim.

The scammer disappears once the deposit is received, leaving the prospective tenant defrauded.

For more information and tips to avoid such frauds, read more at: CENTURY21.com 

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