[2009] Rental Scam

[pjrose]

I always get these from craigslist as well. I always give them the name, address and phone number of my state Attorney General. I can only imagine how many checks that guy has received, each one being a scam.

Will the state AG do anything? who knows. but at least I wasted the scammers time and money (postage, etc).

as for paypal, BE CAREFUL! These scammers use paypal as well, except they use STOLEN credit cards to make the paypal payment, which of course, gets reversed on you.

Cash is king.

I love the Attorney General suggestion. I have occasionally sent these scams along to the AG, but never though of using the AG's address.

PayPal payments can also be reversed, so yes, beware even of PayPal. I think - not sure - that if it's a verified PayPal user then it's ok.

In every case, ask for the renter's address - physical address, not PO box - and phone number, and then Google his/her name and address and phone number to be sure everything matches up. Then talk to the person on the phone - you can probably tell pretty quickly if they sound legit.

I've ALMOST been scammed on eBay a few times, but with these name/address/phone searches it was clear the people were not legit. One used an address in Miami for his "apartment number", which was obviously a mail drop, because there were a whole bunch of companies, many with apparent South American, African, and European affiliations, at the same address. He had a bunch of brand-new feedbacks for inexpensive misc. stuff - probably paid for the cheapo stuff to get feedbacks (or invented those users and items as well), then went for the bigger buys (like mine).

I reported them and eBay kicked them off. I'm sure they reappeared immediately with new eBay names. And eBay, the stinkers, did NOT refund my fees even though the sales did not go through! I had to go through a huge run-around with eBay on this, and I can file a claim with some department, but haven't yet.

Always check out your potential renter online and talk on the phone.

 

[JudyS]

.....
I have another that is not one of theseabove, but for some reason can not manage to get a paypal account set up. They want to send a check or Western Union (frankly I don't want to bother with either). Who uses Western Union? Do you send it directly to your bank, or do you have to pick it up somewhere? I don't want to use WU as I don't know the procedure.

Any suggestions for WU?

Yes -- don't use it. Western Union is very insecure and is a favorite "payment" method for scammers.

The problem with responding is that your e-mail address is likely to be shared among other scammers as a possible victim. Responding at all tells them there is a possibility you might fall for some type of scam, even if not this one. Thus, you may well get more scam offers of various types than if you hadn't responded.

Good point! It might be safer to set up another email account that you use just for the scammers (or use just one time.) Then, send the reply from that new email address, giving your state's Attorney General as the address to send payment to. My guess is, the scammers are sending out emails to so many addresses that they'll have no idea that your new, disposable address is one they have never heard of before. Just hit "reply" in your usual email program, then cut-and-paste whatever it gives you into an email sent from your new, disposable account, and make sure you write RE:... in the subject line.

(In fact, I suspect the emails the scammers send out are automated. That's why they often have the wrong dates for the rentals.)

 

[Robert D]

I thought that you had to be "verified" on Paypal to make a payment over $500, but I might be wrong.

 

[teepeeca]

JudyS

If the person pays for "anything" via Western Union, you can be assured that you get "actual" money.

If a payment is made through Western Union, when you go to pick up the $$$, "THAT IS WHAT YOU GET"----actual MONEY--- NOT a check, or anything else.

"Please tell me" how that can be a scam---you are actually paid, with NO RECOURSE of the person sending the $$$ trying to with-hold any funds. !!!???

That is why "I" would like it if anybody I am doing business would use Western Union to send the funds.

Tony

 

[Garnet]

Add me to the list of people who have received emails from Craigs list................
.............
I don't want to use WU as I don't know the procedure.

Any suggestions for WU?

I haven't used WU either. However, the other day at Safeway (Northern CA big supermarket) I noticed at the Customer Service Desk a Western Union sign. I asked and was told they could either send or receive funds via WU. Worth looking into further.

Particularly with someone using a stolen credit card via Paypal and Paypal charging you back. I had no idea.

 

[dioxide45]

If the person pays for "anything" via Western Union, you can be assured that you get "actual" money.

If a payment is made through Western Union, when you go to pick up the $$$, "THAT IS WHAT YOU GET"----actual MONEY--- NOT a check, or anything else.

"Please tell me" how that can be a scam---you are actually paid, with NO RECOURSE of the person sending the $$$ trying to with-hold any funds. !!!???

That is why "I" would like it if anybody I am doing business would use Western Union to send the funds.

Tony

This is why the scammers always want you to wire funds back to them. They know this better than anybody.

 

[radmoo]

RUN!!!

I placed an ad on Craig's List for my Canyon Villa Unit and received the EXACT same reply. THis fish stinks so if you haven't already done so, RUN!
thankfully I rented my unit via the classifieds on TUGS. Thanks everyone and Happy Holidays!

 

[Sandy VDH]

To me paypal is easy as I don't have to wait for physical mail to arrive, and I don't have to make a trip to the bank. With WU I would also have to make a trip to the Western Union office, and frankly I don't want to bother.

If someone is really interested, in my opinion they will go ahead and set up a paypal account to pay me, if they don't already have one. If they resist paypal then perhaps they are up to something. To me it is just peace of mind.

I currently have one person who claims they really want the week, but after 3 weeks they still have issues setting up a paypal account and want to send me a check. Paypal is not that difficult if you have a bank account and a valid credit card.

What I don't understand is why bother with TS as a scam. The only way the could MAKE money, is if they pay us more than is owed and we are stupid enough to send the extra money back. Personally I would never do that, but if someone rented and did not pay properly, I could always cancel the booking, so that they don't have anything either is there ends up being a problem with the payment. I guess I just don't get many last minute rentals. Most are 60 -120 days in advance, if not longer.

 

[FlyerBobcat]

This is why the scammers always want you to wire funds back to them. They know this better than anybody.

Yep, I agree. The issue with WU is wiring money back to a scammer (i.e. your money is sent & gone before you realize that you never really had legitimate funds!). You won't GET money from a scammer via WU..

 

[FlyerBobcat]

.... The only way the could MAKE money, is if they pay us more than is owed and we are stupid enough to send the extra money back. Personally I would never do that.....

Although I feel the same way, I think the scammer(s) prey on the fact that many people feel they are not "stupid" and would never fall for any such trick. Some scams are very clever, so you always have to be on guard, IMO.

 

[thinze3]

1. Why can't one of you savvy Tuggers start a low cost timeshare rental program so we won't have to worry about all this?

2. Has anyone here actually been burned by a renter?

Terry

 

[Dave M]

What I don't understand is why bother with TS as a scam.

It's not just timeshares. The scammers go after ads for almost anything they can find on the Internet that's for sale or rent. It takes only a very small percentage of people to be taken in for the scammers to get rich. That's why there are so many scam messages. They are successful often enough that all they need to find is the occasional advertiser who has never heard of the scam.

 

[craigfrommichigan]

wouldn't it be funny to go along with it. recieve their over payment check then make a bogus check to send back to them???

along as you cant be prosecuted for it.

 

[MuranoJo]

I recently had a last-minute rental situation where the renter had troubles with PayPal. Since they called me directly several times, I felt they were somewhat more trusting. However, turns out, some credit cards simply don't work with PayPal in MX--PayPal support told me this directly. It's some sort of security measure, but does not necessarily mean the renter has any financial problems--some cards just don't work.

They never could get it to work in spite of contacting PayPal international, so I had to pass on them as I wouldn't accept any other form of payment.
Luckily, I was contacted by a couple other renters at the last minute also and was finally able to close. I have never had my unit go unrented this late before.

What's concerning here is I think I'm reading even PayPal isn't necessarily secure, though they assure me they are. I always log in for transactions, not directly from an email message.

 

[Robert D]

I've taken personal checks several times for rentals and never had a problem but the check in dates were at least 60 days in the future so I had plenty of time to find out if they bounced. Also, the checks were always drawn on a domestic bank.

 

[crazyhorse]

Reminds me of the film a few years ago " Catch Me if You Can" starring Leonardo DeCaprio? Amusing to see his misuse of checks, but not so funny if you are on the receiving end of one.

 

[calgarygary]

It's not just timeshares. The scammers go after ads for almost anything they can find on the Internet that's for sale or rent. It takes only a very small percentage of people to be taken in for the scammers to get rich. That's why there are so many scam messages. They are successful often enough that all they need to find is the occasional advertiser who has never heard of the scam.

I just received an email from some Prince requesting a buy in to his investment program, lowest buy in was $10 Million! Maybe Madoff started his scam on Craigslist!

 

[clsmit]

I had a similar email to the OP from a posting I did on this very own board's Marketplace. So it's not just Craigslist. Once I told her to pay via PayPal she disappeared.

 

[djs]

I had a similar email to the OP from a posting I did on this very own board's Marketplace. So it's not just Craigslist. Once I told her to pay via PayPal she disappeared.

Unfortunately it doesn't really matter what site/board an ad is posted on; the scammers seek them out and then do what they do best.

 

[NWL]

RobertD - I got the EXACT same e-mail. It's a scam. I asked him why her employer couldn't write them the check and they use Pay Pal to pay me and I never got a response. I didn't read the entire thread so I don't know if you've been told this yet, but your initial post caught my eye.

Don't do it!

 

[JudyS]

If the person pays for "anything" via Western Union, you can be assured that you get "actual" money.

If a payment is made through Western Union, when you go to pick up the $$$, "THAT IS WHAT YOU GET"----actual MONEY--- NOT a check, or anything else.

"Please tell me" how that can be a scam---you are actually paid, with NO RECOURSE of the person sending the $$$ trying to with-hold any funds. !!!???

That is why "I" would like it if anybody I am doing business would use Western Union to send the funds.

Tony

Hi, Tony

I should have been clearer. It's not the funds sent by Western Union aren't good, it's that Western Union is designed to be used to transfer money between parties who know each other well and already trust each other. For example, my understanding is that a person doesn't even have to give their real name to pick up a Western Union transfer, as long as they know the transaction number and amount.

Because of this, using Western Union often appeals to scammers. So, I would be very wary of a stranger who wanted to use Western Union to send you funds; I think there is a high probability that they are trying to set you up for a scam, rather than really planning to do a legitimate transaction. If someone does actually send you money via Western Union, though, the money should be good. (Although I'd still be uncomfortable renting to someone who paid via Western Union, because I wouldn't have a good way to confirm their identity. Paypal or a check gives some way to tell who the renter is. For the same reason, I prefer personal checks over money orders.)

 

[Sandy VDH]

I am sticking to paypal only. I will on occasion take a personal check, but I want to avoid this and anything else. Mainly because I prefer to all of the transactions online, the check requires the mail, WU requires finding a WU office and actually picking up funds. Paypal is great as I can accomplish all I want from my PJs on Christmas morning if I want.

Merry Christmas

 

[lawtechie]

I was contacted by this person. Same exact message in the email. I gave him my work address and only my cell not my home number. After reading this post on TUG I emailed him back that I know he is a scam artist and I am reporting him to Craigslist and other agencies. THANK YOU VERY MUCH TUGGERS!!

 

[calgarygary]

I was contacted by this person. Same exact message in the email. I gave him my work address and only my cell not my home number. After reading this post on TUG I emailed him back that I know he is a scam artist and I am reporting him to Craigslist and other agencies. THANK YOU VERY MUCH TUGGERS!!

If you have given them your cell number please make sure that the password to your calling features is not something like 1234 or parts of your phone number, address, etc. These scam artists can turn around and use your phone number for placing thousands of dollars of long distance phone calls using your cell phone number.

 

[lawtechie]

If you have given them your cell number please make sure that the password to your calling features is not something like 1234 or parts of your phone number, address, etc. These scam artists can turn around and use your phone number for placing thousands of dollars of long distance phone calls using your cell phone number.

No I have a pretty secure password and free long distance.

Thanks.