Not beating about the bush, 4 common rental scams look like the ever-trending ones. Prologue with student tenancy then rental apartments, Nigerian prince and vacation rentals…
…the last one trending on the list
One shouldn’t be having the shock of their life if they find a house on repossession, shimmering to the heights online, with the sign board, “For sale”.
Stolen rental ads and IDS
Poor landlords! Their rental ads are stolen or hijacked by craigslist entities. This is why they look way too genuine.
Copy & paste rental listings
It’s done! Everything looks so real because some real people own them – address, pictures, amenities, address.
Except for the email id, which is the con-artist exclusive.
Phantom rent outs scam
You wire the security deposit, only to find that you’re stranded on the streets. No such property, as addressed in the listing exists. Con men create properties those never exist.
Eviction notice scam
You never knew who knew about you battling finances and rental arrears. You find a letter in the mail box, only to find that you can elude eviction with the help of EVICTION PREVENTION SERVICES.
All you have to pay is just $3,000!
And this is the epitome of eviction scam!!!
What not?
No genuine landlord or roommate would always be out of country on a mission. Let’s put ourselves in their shoes. Would we be sitting abroad in the far east of Slovakia, sketching plans to hand over the key?
A CSI deal? Nah!!!
Have you ever visited the rental apartment/property in person? The answer is no, and the rest goes without saying.
R & D, that’s not a cliché, forever. I’d be looking for rental vacancy rates, average amount of rate and, above all, reviews by renters.
Ugh, fake IDs. I neither work for the University of California, nor own the property listed online. Still, I could breach it. I know my onions, so it’s not a Himalayan task to email you a fake driver’s license.
Anti-rental-scam victim will verify with a realtor. Next comes my ID check. Realtors knew me better. Then, you get to know how grotesque it would’ve been.
In most cases it’s the students, who become the hottest targets. Hard earned money purloined by rental scammers is more than a pain. Life savings washed out as security deposits isn’t that easy to take.
Jennifer Abel, reporter at Consumer Affairs says, “Anytime you are looking for a rental there’s always a possibility a scammer is behind it.”
