Full Notification

At this time, we have been made aware that someone on Craigslist has placed an ad for a house for "Rent". When contacted, the "Owner" has stated the house in quetion is 303 Stage Rd, and one can drive by and see the house. They then attach photos of the inside of the house, but claim you cant see it because they have alreadyy done a showing and unepxectedly had to go back to California or Texas. They further explain how the process will work and  end by saying once they receive your money, they will mail you the keys.

This is a scam. This house is for sale, and the person commtitting this fraud has copied pictures of the inside of the house from the sale listing. 303 Stage Rd is not for rent.

Beware of Internet scams involving rental properties where the landlord requires payment using Western Union, money gram, wire transfers or a landlord who is out of the country or cannot meet you in person. Also be aware of scams where the tenant sends the landlord a certified cashier's check for an amount greater than needed and asks the landlord to send the remaining balance back.

Commonalities of a Rental Property Scam:
1. Usually contains poor grammar and misspellings.

2. Usually mentions God, cashiers check, money orders, wire transfer, Western Union, doctor, reverend, Nigeria, or the UK.

3. Landlord wants you to wire money to them. Typically to a bank not located in the same city as the rental property.

4. Landlord's email typically comes from a free email provider such as Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail.

5. References another person or agent. Especially in the case of a wire transfer, the name on their bank account will differ from the person posing as the landlord.

6. Tenant Scam - willing to send money without viewing your property.

7. Landlord Scam - wants you to send money without viewing inside of property.

8. Will not accept credit card payment.

9. Can not show you the inside of the rental property before you send money.

10. Name in the real estate county records does not match the name of the landlord claiming to own the property.

11. Price is too good to be true.

12. Does not have a phone number that you can call. In cases where the scammer does have a U.S. based phone number, be sure to check the area code to be sure it is located in or around the city of the rental property.

Scammers copy real ads and real photos of actual rental properties or homes in attractive neighborhoods and pretend to be local owners. They significantly lower the prices and post them on other websites, replacing the owner's contact information with their own.

Many times, the actual homeowners are unaware their home is being used to commit fraud. 

To avoid being ripped-off, always view the inside of the rental home before paying anything.  If the owner/landlord/management company is not capable of showing you the inside of the rental home, look elsewhere or pay with a credit card.

In situations where you can not view the inside of the property because you are not located in the city of the rental, be sure to make payment using a credit card.  Never send money via wire, cashier's check, Money Gram or Western Union.  Only a credit card has fraud protection.  If the landlord can not accept a credit card, you can also use PayPal.com to make payment using your credit card.  If the landlord will not accept PayPal, look elsewhere. Don't risk the chance of being taken in a scam.