Craig's list internet scam

[mbrei384]

I had contacted a person on Craigs list about a houe he was renting out. I have kept all the receipts and all of the emails. He asked that I send him the money through Western Union and then I would receive the key. But the money has ben sent and still no keys. I have asked for my money back, but that hasn't happened either. What can I do?

 

[army judge]

I had contacted a person on Craigs list about a houe he was renting out. I have kept all the receipts and all of the emails. He asked that I send him the money through Western Union and then I would receive the key. But the money has ben sent and still no keys. I have asked for my money back, but that hasn't happened either. What can I do?

You have been scammed.
You will NEVER see a penny of the money stolen from you returned.
Most likely the crook that stole from you is somewhere in Africa!

This is NOT a recent scam technique.
No one should ever purchase anything off of CraigsList.
Heck, didn't you read about the medical student rapist/killer?
He arranged his kills and rapes using CraigsList.

The best thing you can do now is contact your local law enforcement authorities.
Even they may be UNABLE to help you.
If the person you think you were dealing with is named "Bob Jones", the police might be able to at least identify your scammer.

Most likely the scammer isn't even in the US.
Kenyans, Nigerians, and other African nationals are busily working this scam/con deep in the heart of darkest Africa.

The FBI has released a statement that a new Craigslist Rental Scam is being run out of Nigeria. Famous for the Advance Fee Scam, or 419 fraud, the Nigerian con artists are now targeting renters in America to try to collect rental deposits on homes they do not own.

Here is the FBI report of what is occurring. If you are using Craigslist to find rental property, please make sure that you are in contact with a real person in real life. If a deal seems to good to be true and the person only stays in contact on the internet, odds are that you and your money could be in peril.

Homeowners list their homes for sale with real estate agents, who will list the homes for sale in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and also with public search websites, which allow individuals to query homes for sale via the Internet. Nigerian scammers find homes listed for sale on these public search sites, copy the pictures and listings verbatim, and then post the information onto Craigslist under available housing rentals, without the consent or knowledge of Craigslist, who has been notified.

After the posting is listed, unsuspecting individuals contact the poster, who is Nigerian, for more information on the "rental." The Nigerian scammer will state that they had to leave the country very quickly to do missionary or contract work in Africa and were unable to rent their house before leaving, therefore they have to take care of this remotely. The "homeowner" sends the prospective renter an application and tells them to send them first and last month's rent to the Nigerian scammer via Western Union. The prospective renter is further told If they "qualify," they will send them the keys for their house. Once the money is wired to the scammer, they show up at the house, see the home is actually for sale, are unable to access the property, and their money is gone.

Federal Bureau of Investigation – The Columbia Division: Press Release.

Fraudsters operating at Craigslist are trying to con those who are seeking a dwelling on rent. In a recent incident, a lady seeking rented accomodation in Juneau, Alaska was almost duped by scammers who pretended to be owners of a property there.

When she responded to an ad on Craigslist, fraudsters asked her to make a deposit and for some personal information to be sent via email. Keys to the home, they promised, would be sent to her as soon as she did as told.

The lady was saved from being conned when she decided to physically verify the offer made by the fraudsters. She was surprised to find the listed property happily occupied by owners who had no clue that someone had put ads offering their house for rent.

Craigs list Rental Scam now spreading wide

These scams should now be seen as a common ploy adopted by fraudsters. They take down particulars of homes listed for sale at online auction sites and use it to offer the same place for rent elsewhere.

Correspondence with prospects are often done entirely via emails. The email will claim they moved recently from their homes to wherever-they-are-now on missionary work. It will use flowery words and will tug at your heartstrings to cover the scam.

The scams have their origins usually in Nigeria. As is expected, they rarely ever mention their postal address. An early warning sign, in such a case, is a contact number posted in the ad carrying the Nigerian country code.

Apart from pouching the deposit, fraudsters also use information given away by victims to steal their money. If you handover your bank account info, they are capable of transferring money from this account into one of theirs. If you divulge your driving license or social security information, they use these to open credit accounts against your name and make purchases against the same. Ditto for credit card details.

A good rule against falling prey to scams at online auction sites is to only deal with local buyers and sellers. When renting homes, especially, it is a good idea to pay a visit to the offered space. This enables you to verify independently whether the offers are genuine or not.

Here are some recent scams, mirroring the one that ripped you off!
This has been around nearly a decade.

http://www.therealestatebloggers.co...raigslist-rental-scam-being-run-from-nigeria/

http://www.10news.com/news/13962225/detail.html

http://www.fraudguides.com/internet-craigslist-scams.asp

http://paulm.com/inchoate/2004/06/419_rent_scam.html

http://www.419legal.org/blog/2008/06/02/craigslist-rental-scam/

http://activerain.com/blogsview/199990/beware-rental-scams-operating-on-craigslist-com

http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2009/05/rental-fraud-on-craigslist.html