BROKER RISK MANAGEMENT
WEEKLY PRACTICE TIPS
Check Your Listings for Rental Scams
Q: I have several listings for sale. Recently, I received a call from a seller whose home I had listed for sale who told me that they were called by a man who stated that he had rented that seller’s home that I had for sale, that he had signed a lease and paid the first month’s rent plus a two-month security deposit, totaling $12,300. That “tenant” had found the rental ad on Craigslist and contacted the “agent” by e-mail and, after receiving detailed information about the property, had wired the funds to secure the rental. Of course, it turned out to be a scam. My biggest concern is that name of the agent on the Craigslist was MY name and my broker’s name. Of course the phone number and email were different. The account to which the money was wired is an account in a phony name and the money deposited to that account is immediately transferred to an overseas account.
Is there anything I can do to protect my sellers, and my listings, and my reputation from these fraudsters?
A: Unfortunately, this type of rental scam is on the rise; and it is difficult to stop these people. Usually, the perpetrators are overseas. They find property for sale or rent online and post advertisements for them for rent. The ads look legitimate with lots of information – straight from your listing information.
They may even have gained access to the property, which is not uncommon with vacant properties, by breaking in and changing the locks. Frequently they just claim that the home/unit is currently occupied but the current tenant will be out in several days. The unsuspecting tenant prospect is told that, if they are interested, they have to immediately sign a lease and wire the funds to an account to secure the unit before others do; and that if they do not like the unit upon inspection, they will get their deposit back.
Of course, the money is gone, the agent is gone, and the account to which the funds were wired is empty. The name on that bank account may have been set up with identity theft of an unsuspecting person.
PRACTICE TIPS:
1. Regularly check out your listing addresses on Craigslist, Trulia, Rentals.com, and other highly used rental websites in your area. Search for rental ads showing your listings as being available for rent.
2. Contact that site and warn them that this is a scam advertisement and that the offending ad must be taken down immediately.
3. Report the rental scam to:
A. Your local District Attorney. Their office may be able to help especially if it appears that this is a local scammer.
B. The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at:
https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
C. The FTC. You can file a complaint about an apartment scam by phone or online. To begin, call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or visit the FTC's online Complaint Assistant at:
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en
Note that the FTC complaint form is intended for reporting alleged scammers in the United States. If you know or have reason to believe that the person or company that scammed you is located in a different country, visit econsumer.gov.
4. If the scammer is overseas, then very likely there is little that can be done because they continually change their identity, email address, etc. But, at least you can minimize your listings being used as bait for these scams.
WEEKLY PRACTICE TIP: DO NOT FORWARD TO CLIENTS. This Weekly Practice Tip is for the exclusive use of clients of Broker Risk Management and their agents. It may not be reproduced or distributed without the express written consent of Broker Risk Management. The advice and recommendations contained herein are not necessarily indicative of standards of care in the industry, but rather are intended to suggest good risk management practices.