Fraud Involving Renting Houses Discovered

Renting houses is currently popular right now especially with the many homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure. The huge demand for apartments and homes for rent has not only attracted individuals and families looking for a place to reside but also those whose would like to make some money illegally.

In New Jersey, police discovered fraudulent activities involving legitimate listings for rental homes appearing on craigslist. But instead of the right information, the said posting contains details that are too good to be true.

For instance, a realtor would advertise the availability of an apartment with a monthly rental fee of $2,700. A similar posting would appear on craigslist, but this time, the monthly rental fee would just be $800. There are also instances when photos or images of the rental property are stolen.

The fraudulent posting will then request those who are interested in renting houses to deposit a down payment with instructions to do so using money order or bank check. The person behind the fraud will make up a story about being a missionary residing abroad. Of course, the down payment cannot be traced to any particular person.

If a request to check out the property is made, another excuse not to show up will be given although the interested renter will be encouraged to visit the rental unit on their own. The local police have already received several reports from neighbors who noticed strangers checking vacant rental homes.

In addition, the fraud victims argue with the legitimate realtor saying that they have spoken with the rental property owner and agreed on a much lower rental fee. Naturally, the realtor will tell the victims that the person they spoke with was not the owner.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has become involved as well but found it challenging to trace the origin of the posting. In cases where the posting was actually traced, the location was in Nigeria. Craigslist has decided to help minimize the incidence of fraud by taking down the fake postings as soon as they were discovered.

Meanwhile, people who are interested in renting houses are advised to be on the lookout for such fraudulent activities. If a listing sounds too good to be true, you should even be more careful.