Beware of Craigslist Rental Scams
Posted by Holly in Blunt Honesty, Interesting
Be very careful when searching the ads on Craigslist for homes to rent – because I was almost a victim of a big scam recently. And I’m not the only one.
Some of you know that I am visiting family in Wisconsin – and while here I decided to look around, out of curiosity, at some homes for rent. I love Las Vegas, but it’s a tough place to 
raise a child. So it doesn’t hurt to look around. While searching the Craigslist ads for homes for rent, I found one that looked extremely nice. I decided to drive by the home and get a better look at it, and then I contacted the person who made the ad to ask some questions. I received a reply right away – with the person asking me for details about myself. I then received this response back:
Hello Holly Mann.
Glad to hear from you,i got your application form filled and everything is okay by me. Myself and my Wife are very exited and willing to let you move in our house as soon as possible and we have conclude on accepting payment for the first month rent payment $900 including Utilities inside and a security deposit of $500 the total of $1,400 to move in as soon as you are ready.
The package containing the keys and documentations will be delivered to you withing 48 hours to you as soon as you are ready to move in to the house,
Here are the contents of the document.
1) Entrance and the rooms Keys
2)Paper/Permanent home form
3)The house documetary file.
4) Payment Receipt..
5) Full address and description of the home.
We will want you We will want you to know that we will be sending you the keys and documents via F.E.D.E.X express sevice as soon as you make the payments for the first month rent and the security deposit.await your immidiate respon as soon as possible.. God Bless You. Kramermi Chelle.
After receiving this strange response, I wrote back (thinking it was a scam) with this: Thank you for the E-mail. I am interested in the house – however I would like to meet with you personally to view it first. 
I’m in the area this week – today – until Friday. If you have the time to meet me at the home so I can see it -I would appreciate it. Thanks.
Then his response: The house is still available but presently I’m not around.. I did bid for a portion of petroleum land sometimes ago in West Africa and fortunately I won the bidding so I have to move quickly down to Africa to have my company set up because I will still have to rebid for it in the next 10 years.. I came over here with my wife. Kramermi Chelle.
Then I wrote back, knowing fully it was in fact a scam, and said this (yes I totally lied about the husband and moving, but wanted to see how bad these guys really are):
Hi Kramer, I understand-thanks. I want the house and need to know where to send the money? I am struggling a little with money because my husband died six months ago and I am caring for my son alone. I just want to know if you can lower the rent price to 800 per month? Thanks so much and I am excited to move in! All our stuff is packed and we will need to drive for 30 hours to get from Nevada to the house. God bless you and I will wait to hear from you about the payment!
His most recent response was this: Hello Holly Mann. thanks for the eamil l have ACCEPT you to pay $800 for the rent.so now l will be geting the package ready for you as soon as you make the payment today.
Below is the information on how you can get the payment sent to me.
Reciever’s Name: Kramermi Chelle
Address : 121 SAINT JUDE CHURCH RD,
City: EDO,
STATE BENIN
Coutry : NIGERIA
Zipcode: 23401
TEXT QUESTION : WHO MADE YOU
ANSWER : ????????????
As soon as you send the payment from the WESTERN UNION, you would be given some informations.:You would have to get back to me with the following information:
1. Full Sender’s Name And Address Including Zip Code:
2. MTCN #:
3. Amount Sent:
Thanks and remain blessed. Kramermi Chelle.
I read other stories online about this and how common of a scam it has become. Others who scam Americans with this are sometimes more tactful – smarter, better writers, organize their crime better. I read another person’s story about a Craigslist rental scam and the person who posed as the home owner renting out their home, also acted as though he was a ministor. He said that he was a pastor and needed to go on a missions trip – and would like to correspond only by email, western union and sending the keys to the new renter.
Just be careful. The home I thought that was for rent was also online as a “for sale by owner” home – so I assumed they had given up on selling it and decided to rent it out. The scammers took the details of the home and home owner’s name from the “for sale by owner” website that the home was listed on. The actual name of the owner of the home I was interested in is Michelle Kramer – but the scammer didn’t know that and thought Kramer, Michelle (last then first name) meant this: Kramermi Chelle. Not so smart. In the end, I found the real owners home number and left her a message to make her aware of this situation. I saved the emails from the scammer and will do something about it this weekend. I may correspond with him again – not sure – just to leave him in suspense! lol..
What scams have you encountered? Anything like this? It helps to warn others.
17 Responses to “Beware of Craigslist Rental Scams”
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Jerry
31. Jul, 2009
Wow Holly, I just went through this same thing only on rentals.com! I currently own a house in North Carolina but recently I really wanted to lease something elsewhere until I was sure I would be happy where I was moving. I found a really stunningly awesome French Manor on 34 acres I was really interested in. The lease price was very good considering the value of the property so I contacted the owner via the online form offered. And as in your experience I was asked to send a down payment to someone out of state in New Jersey. Of course this was so obviously a ploy to steal money so I am currently looking around again. I’ve been looking at some properties on craigslist for a few months now but haven’t really contacted anyone. It’s bad though because I found a Garmin forerunner watch I wanted on craigslist in Texas so I contacted the person hoping to send them money and get it shipped to me. I could not convince them I wasn’t a scam even after a talking to them! So I had to just buy it from Best Buy. I’m glad you posted about this and good luck on finding a new place in WI!
Holly
31. Jul, 2009
Thanks for sharing that Jerry. It’s tough to buy things online and to know the credibility of the seller. I ended up looking around a little more but haven’t found anything of interest here…so for now we’re still in sin city. But as far is this goes – when I have time I will do some research to see who I can contact and submit this information to. I at least wanted to the innocent home owner to know she was being impersonated and tell her about it. Hopefully she will do something or call me back later – and I can give her the details.It’s a shame people resort to this. Desperation can drive people to do some bad things – but there are other ways to get money…
Jerry
31. Jul, 2009
Hey Holly, I meant to paste this from rentals.com but I sent my post in a hurry because we’re having really bad storms here and my Internet Access keeps dropping out:
The United States Secret Service continues to be tasked as the primary US law enforcement agency in dealing with Advance Fee Fraud (419) matters. US Citizens or Residents with no financial loss may email 419er documents to the United States Secret Service at 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov where they are archived for future datamining. Only No Loss reports are to be sent to this email address. Due to the sheer volume of materials received, USSS does not respond to submissions to this address.
United States Citizens and Residents who have suffered a financial loss are instructed to contact the nearest Field Office of the United States Secret Service (USSS) by telephone.
You may also file a Financial Loss complaint online with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). This organization is a partnership of the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Holly
31. Jul, 2009
Thanks Jerry – that is great to know! I will do that.
Beware of Craigslist Rental Scams | Make Money Online | scambux.com
01. Aug, 2009
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Anna
01. Aug, 2009
Amazing how willing he was to continue scam you despite everything you told them about your husband, money, and the 30-hour drive. But that is how these people are – they missed a few lessons in life. Like how to treat other people.
C. Robert Dillon
03. Aug, 2009
Holly,
Unfortunately that is a very common scam, especially where you live now.
When my wife and I moved to Vegas last summer (we have since moved back to Indiana) probably one in five ads we responded to on CL was some form or another of this scam.
Other big scams in Vegas were renting out houses in foreclosure, renting out houses that had been foreclosed (and nobody could find the owner), and the “email me your credit report before I show you the house” blackhat affiliate method.
We were so exasperated that we almost just stayed in the extended stay forever and we probably should have. We ended up going through a real estate agent and still got scammed!
The house we rented was agent listed. She told us she was renting it for her brother in Florida. The lease even spelled out exactly where we were to deposit our checks. On move in day she suddenly wanted everything in cash, saying her brother couldn’t get money out of his bank account.
We found out after we moved out (wife got transferred again) that she never paid our agent his referral fee and that her and her husband were the listed owners, they had built the house new and the house was in foreclosure.
So I guess the moral of the story is sometimes when things are rough, you can’t even trust the people you are supposed to trust. I miss Vegas, but I do not miss having to micro analyze everybody you deal with to figure out if they are trying to screw you.
Holly
03. Aug, 2009
Thanks for sharing this Robert. It’s interesting that you lived in Vegas and had such a negative experience with finding a place. I was just fortunate when I moved to Vegas because I had my Aunt who lived in a decent area and her neighbor of many years gave up on trying to sell his home – so decided to rent it out to someone (me). I didn’t have to look at ads and try that route for finding a place. The place that the rental scam happened to me here is in Wisconsin. I suppose it is really common now and the tactics are getting better and better. The guy who tried to scam me though would need to improve his story and english for it to be more believable. It’s too bad people resort to these types of things.
Irish Tom
03. Aug, 2009
Hi Holly
What an interesting story, but unfortunatly all too common.
I have found the biggest scam artists are operating from Nigeria and know every trick in the book. They used to be on the internet more often..you know the story..someone died of cancer and their representative needs to get their “fortune” in to the USA. They then ask you to help and pass your bank info so they can do the transfer..few days after you do that your account is cleaned out. The other one was to receive what looks like a total genuine check drawn on a real US Bank. You are to go to Western Union (most popular for scams) and cash the check, keep 15% for your troubles and then send balance to a new account number, usually in Nigeria. Many people have been caught, and when the check is returned weeks later, you are liable.
Greed triggers this scam. As I have advised many people, if it is too good to be true..IT IS!
In Fresno,CA that very same scam you described above happened recently. The lady who owned the house got the shock of her life when a family arrived on her doorstep to take up occupancy having paid rent and deposit to the “owner”. The police got involved but the con merchants were long gone.
Just be very vigilant on everything you do.
Cheers
Tom
Normal Joe
07. Aug, 2009
wow, that is just crazy! People get more and more devious by the minute! Who would continue to try to scam someone given the situation you told them lol…just wow.
Be careful Holly!
Barbara
13. Aug, 2009
I just went through the same thing today. He is in Nigeria, you really have to be careful theses days. I know there are people who will fall for this. Sad, very sad. They want me to Western Union 1100.00 dollars. I made up a story that I didn’t know how to do that and will send a wire transfer. They wrote back explaining where to go and how to send Western Union.
Jeremy
19. Aug, 2009
Holly, et al…
Scam #1: My roommate and I recently ALMOST fell prey to one of these scams in Walnut Creek, CA. We were looking at an ad on craigslist, listing a beautiful 4 Bedroom home for $1100 per month. (In this area you are lucky to get a run-down 1-BED apt for this price!) I drove by the house to take a look. It was beautiful and would have been perfect for us, her son and my dog. I thought it was too good to be true, and after the “owner” asked for application information, I googled the address and, sure enough, it came up on an MLS listing. The house was listed for sale for almost $800,000, and was definitely NOT for rent.
Scam #2: I am currently looking to relocate to another area for work, and I posted a “Housing Wanted” ad on Craigslist. I received a very nice response from someone, showing me a really nice apartment. Same story… he’s out of town, but has a “caretaker” in the area who will be happy to check in on me and make sure I am happy. I could have played it out longer when he asked me to send him my application information, but I simply replied that unless I could meet with a live person and be assured that he was in fact the property owner, I would not be sending him anything, and would assume that this was another scam.
Jerry, thank you for the information regarding where to send this type of information (USSS). I found this site while trying to find out to whom I could report this!
I hate liars and thieves. Amen to the comment about these folks missing the lessons on how to treat people in this world.
Good luck to you all. Be aware, and be careful! These people are getting rich off our vulnerabilities. Don’t let your guard down, and NEVER send money to someone you can’t meet. (My first ebay experience ended this same way; I purchased an iPod from BEIJING by wiring money through western union! Needless to say, I never got it!)
…Sigh… I’ve learned my lessons, sometimes the hard way! Hope my experience can help someone else!
Jeremy
Holly
19. Aug, 2009
Hi Jeremy. That’s awful – and exactly what happened with me. I found the listing on a MLS listing site. I think Craigslist needs to monitor things better -because as of now people have been hurt and scammed a lot through their services.
Erik Perozo
04. Sep, 2009
Holly,
Thank you so much for posting this. My brother and I are actually in the process of finding a place to rent in the Charlotte,NC area and I have been looking on craigslist. Needless to say we came across some “too good to be true” locations and I have yet to contact them. I guess I could to play with their mind a bit. I have also found some listed by Real Estate agents and now this post has left me a little timid. Once again thanks and Thanks to everyone else and their story. I should have known about these scams bc I have been trying to sell my Caddy on Craigslist and have been contacted by some unusually stupid emailers…..oh and some of them have been……How to make 10K in a month working from home…..LOL. If they only knew.
Dave Dugdale
05. Sep, 2009
Holly, I created a rental scam detection quiz if anyone is interested finding out if they are dealing with a scammer:
http://www.rentvine.com/tools/rentalscamquiz/
Dave Dugdale
eileen
18. Sep, 2009
OMG I WAS CURRENTLY LOOKING TO RENT A HOUSE FOR MY FAMILY AND LOCATED A BEAUTIFUL 3BDRM FOR 1000 IN TAMPA FL THE GUY TOLD ME THE SAME THING ABOUT THE BIDDING IN WEST AFRICA, IM CURRENTLY STILL SPEAKING TO HIM BUT WILL GO NO FURTHER THANKS FOR MAKING ME AWARE!
Jayme
04. Nov, 2011
I saw the same thing but the scam was they were in Thailand…..beware everyone!