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Thread: Scammers and rental industry

  1. #1
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    Scammers and rental industry

    Rental sites are huge source for scammers.You can find everywhere on the net for rent rooms,apartments,villas...now what scammers do is they make contact with host and ask for availability and price for apartment let's say from 11.08 - 25.08.The price is let's say 2000 Euro.Scammer then confirm the reservation and send check on 2000 €.The host receives the check and deposits in his bank to wait for money.Shortly,after 3,4 days ,the scammer sends email urgent asking for 1000 € to be send to him with Westen Union as he has suddenly some unespected costs - it varies from flight ticket cost that is higher then planed to sudden disease and he needs urgent some money.Now hosts - what can be red on many forums - do want to please their "client" and ask in their bank for money.Now bank does want to please old client and gives the money in bona fide manner so the host sends money and after week or 2 the bank happily announces that check is not chargeable and our host must give back 1000€ to the bank

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  3. #2
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    Re: Scammers and rental industry

    We have a service called Craig's list, you may too, or something similar for online advertisements, anything from dating to cars. And versions of this scam are huge where they contact people with something to sell say $5,000 and send them $6,000 with the explanation that the $1,000 overage is to be sent to the "shipping company". Or they contact you for a job and want you to be a "mystery shopper" or "personal assistant", same thing send you a fake check and some explanation of why you need to send some of the money back.

    It goes the other way too, the person claiming to be selling on renting the place is not truly the owner, which can make moving day a double hassle.

    "It's virtually impossible to violate rules ... but it's impossible for a violation to go undetected, certainly not for a considerable period of time." Bernie Madoff
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scam-...98399986981403

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  5. #3
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    Re: Scammers and rental industry

    Craig's list I use for my business...really impressive the tricks scammers use to scam people.Some of them get intimate with older,alone ladies and when crook get her affection then he offers marriage but in the same time, a great business deal as contactor...now you can only imagine what happens then

  6. #4
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    Re: Scammers and rental industry

    I saw another thread where a guy set up a fake add with something for sale in the thousands, like a jet ski. He said almost instantly he was getting sold notifications with some time of email assurance (part of the scam) and then asking him to wire extra money to the shipping company. I thought about trying it when I get tired of looking a pictures are all the hot women that are leaving me messages on my fake dating profile. So it may be a while.
    "It's virtually impossible to violate rules ... but it's impossible for a violation to go undetected, certainly not for a considerable period of time." Bernie Madoff
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scam-...98399986981403

  7. #5
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    Re: Scammers and rental industry

    It's a standard "fake check real cash back" scam. Can be done with anything for sale, even mystery shopper.

    Overheard this in a restaurant... an unethical rental lister copies the Craigslist postings, but with their phone number. When people call, they're told whatever they want isn't available (it never was, as it's not their listing) but they may have something else available.

    Actually, here's the most ingenious scam of them all... Involves two people, and quite a few fake bills, and a gullible shop. Nothing really to do with rental. Read this in the news somewhere.

    One guy comes into this shop, traveling sales guy, want to show the manager fake bill detector pen he's selling. Looks about right, manager bought a couple, teaches the employees how to use them.

    A couple days later, different guy comes in and wants to buy a couple of the most expensive items in the store. We're talking thousands here. Hands over a crisp set of 100's. Obviously the employee is suspicious hand checks it with the pen. Seems to be fine. So they take the cash, and the guy leaves with the merchandise.

    The store deposits the cash and was told they're fake.

    How did the scam work? The sales guy sold them fake pens. During the "demonstration" when he tried it on real bill vs. fake bill, he swapped pens.
    ---
    A MLM Skeptic (not a Cynic) covering scams, critical thinking, and psychology
    http://amlmskeptic.blogspot.com

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  9. #6
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    Re: Scammers and rental industry

    Ofcourse there are ways to avoid such cases.As a host I would certanly use some safe sites like InstantWorldBooking,Airbnb,Wimdu and some others where whole transaction is done using the site where reservation, booking and payment are done in the same moment.

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