Craigslist grabs barely half scams posted on its website
The Tandon school NYU researchers of Engineering recently conducted a study on rental craigslist scams, analyzing more 2 million rental ads on the site over a period of five months. Their findings have determined that more than half of the rental scams posted on Craigslist are missed entirely - 53% - and suspicious messages often remain posted for at least 20 hours before removal. This gives fraudsters creating posts a lot of time to attract unsuspecting, naive of apartment seekers in their traps before being arrested. They analyzed a number of different types of scams, those which involve clicking on links to purchase credit reports or provide sensitive personal information to those who steal a copy of a legitimate ad verbatim and place at a cheaper price that talking would -be tenants in sending a deposit upfront. The results of the study were sent to Craigslist, hoping to help the company improve its ability to stop fraudsters in their tracks.
How to spot and avoid scams Craigslist rental
Regardless of the exact nature of the scam, savvy tenants can be on the lookout for some key elements that are often telltale signs the list they are looking at may not be legitimate. We described the summit to identify clues that you should look for the next time you use Craigslist (or other online rental site for that matter) to hunt for a new place to rest your head.
It seems too good to be true
Regardless of whether you live somewhere that prices reasonable rents or in a big city where they soar, everyone likes to save money. If the average price of a one bedroom apartment in the area you conduct your search is $ 1,000 / month, and a similar ad apartment at a price of $ 700 or less should raise your hackles. Similarly, if you can not find a one bedroom apartment for less than $ 1000 / month, chances are that registration for a three bedroom with a whirlpool and other facilities are not all that it's cracked up to be. The proverb: "If it's too good to be true, it probably is," holds a lot of truth, especially regarding the conduct of online business
Moreover, many scam lists. are written to appeal to what they think people want to read. If information on deposits, utilities, additional costs, the exact address and the open time is missing and no photos are provided proceed with caution. many scammers use models to interact with potential victims, so look for a formulation that seems spellings "off" or flat-out and other errors that might indicate that you are not interacting with a professional in an email or text-based exchange. Ask key questions can be a good way to eliminate a scam because fraudsters are unlikely to want to discuss difficult details like utilities.
You are unable to see the place in person
Photos may be worth a thousand words, but nothing beats a chance to visit your prospective home before signing a lease or pay a deposit. The majority of rental scams are run by people who do all that, but as mentioned above, a popular method of scamming in this game is to steal information and photos to a place that is really for rent elsewhere and post their own fake registration. Cunning scammers are prepared with details about the area and have images to show, but you can easily make holes in their history by pushing for a tour of the place itself. If you get an excuse as they are out of town or apartment is currently occupied and can not be seen until you've signed up, back away immediately. For those who are hunting apartment in a new city / state, it can be difficult to see an apartment in person before signing a lease -. In this case, you can count on Google to help eliminate some of crooks
Click on the camera icon to upload a photo from your computer or paste an image URL
searching for the address on Google Maps can show you what the house or building looks, providing a comparison of what the ad describes. Furthermore, using the reverse image search function of Google can be useful to catch the crooks in their tracks - this search tool for any image you upload or provide a URL for in search of the same photo or similar to other web pages. Many scammers steal pictures directly from other lists, and you'll know if the photos pop up on the ads to another address (or the same address, but with very different information) it is probably not legitimate. In general, if you need to hire the blind, it is wise to try to find someone local to check the site for you or wait until you move before you lock something. Few nights in a hotel will probably cost much less than the money lost in a scam artist.
The post Craigslist flagged for removal
Many hunters bookmark potential ads apartments they do their research, and even if you forget to do it the craigslist by e-mails sent will provide a link to the original listing for your reference. If you have been interacting with someone and go back to check the list and see that was reported for the kidnapping, which is a huge sign that you're dealing with a scammer. Craigslist has its own information page to help users discover and avoid scams, you can reference, and it is good to know that in general a list that has been reported (rather than deleted or deleted by the creator ) has generally been found to violate the terms of service site.
The money is requested directly from the start
A feature of scams of all kinds is demand, the immediate initial payment. Some rental scams get creative and make money through referral of victims without their knowledge to the credit report sites (that may or may not be legitimate, which could expose you to theft identity) that pay the scammer for their reference, while others rip people off with the old way of a bank transfer or credit card payment. Regarding renting an apartment, you might meet the legitimate locations that require application rental fee (usually to cover costs to pull your credit reports), but anyone requesting a deposit before signing a lease or let you come see the place is likely to no good. Although the apartment rental business is competitive and rapidly changing, you should avoid anyone who pressures you for an immediate decision or payment.
Craigslist rental scams, like any other type of fraud can be easy to spot if you are diligent and follow your instincts. Remember not to jump into something because it sounds like a good deal, and pay attention to classic scams characteristics such as pressure to act quickly or withholding pertinent information. To learn more about staying ahead of the fraudsters, follow our blog on the subject.