District Attorney Warns Craigslist Rental Scam Hits Erie Market

District Attorney Jack Daneri has issued a warning about a Craigslist scam that has been used in other areas and has now hit the Erie County area. The scam usually involves fake rental listings with a rental price that is too good to be true.

“The scam,” says Daneri, “usually involves a cut and paste of a property listing from a local realtor of a home that is for sale. The scammer then posts the property on Craigslist as a rental property with a low rent asking price. Phone numbers or email addresses are usually listed for contact purposes. The scammer is always from out of the Erie area, and asks for first and last month’s rent and a security deposit to be sent to him/her. A variation of the scam may ask potential renters to fill out a rental application with questions about personal information such as date of birth, social security number, employment history and even bank account numbers. In all cases the scammer is simply trying to steal a person’s hard earned money or identity.”

Craigslist.com website offers some very good rules of thumb to avoid be the victim of a scammer.

• Deal locally with folks you can meet in person – follow this one rule and avoid 99% of scam attempts on Craigslist.
• Never wire funds via Western Union, Moneygram or any other wire service – anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.
• Fake cashier checks and money orders are common, and banks will cash them and then hold you responsible when the fake is discovered weeks later.
• Craigslist is not involved in any transaction, and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer “buyer protection” or “seller certification”
• Never give out financial information (bank account number, social security number, eBay/PayPal info, etc.)
• Avoid deals involving shipping or escrow services and know that only a scammer will “guarantee” your transaction.
• Do not rent housing without seeing the home, or purchase expensive items sight-unseen - in all likelihood that housing unit is not actually for rent and that cheap item does not exist.
• Do not submit to credit checks or background checks for a job or housing until you have met the interviewer or landlord in person.