Police warn of Craigslist scam
* Breaking NewsIf local news is breaking and you know about it:
* Call Us: 800-296-5137 * E-mail Us * Upload Your Photos |
Recommend ThisDaily Staff Report
WINCHESTER -- Authorities are warning prospective real estate renters of a new scam reported in the area.
Police suspect people perpetrating the scheme fraudulently post rental property on craigslist.com, sometimes with photographs taken of the site or stolen from a real estate owner's website, according to Sgt. Frank Myrtle, of the Winchester Police Department.
The victim calls the contact number included with the listing and the person who answers identifies themselves as the property owner. The person then tells the caller to go look at the property and, if he or she likes it, send a check for the first month.
The person posing as the property owner says he or she is on vacation out of the country but tells the caller to send the check to an address at the overseas location, according to Myrtle. The person tells the caller he or she will call back to make arrangements.
"We just want to remind citizens if they are going to rent a house that they need to physically meet with the real estate agent or in person," Myrtle said. "We strongly encourage that it is not a good idea to send any money overseas."
The police department has received a few complaints in recent weeks but no reported victims of the growing scam, according to Myrtle.
1 
If people fall for this, then it is thier own damn fault. Who rents a property without seeing the inside or signing a lease?
It is becoming more apparent that you can't trust anything that is posted on the internet.
"Craigs List" has got to be the #1 site for scammers and the site's owners are making millions and could care less how many people fall prey to the bogus listings posted.
Leave a comment
Comments
Comments that are posted on nvdaily.com represent the opinion of the commenter and not the Northern Virginia Daily/nvdaily.com.
Comments that contain Web addresses, e-mail addresses, personal attacks, name-calling or personal information considered by the editor to be inappropriate for posting here will not be posted.
Commenters agree to abide by our COMMENTS POLICY when posting. Questions? E-mail us at info@nvdaily.com.