Yesterday, I received a pile of emails and numerous phone calls from potential Internet fraud victims. I'd like to alert you to this scam, because it is unlikely that I am the only real estate agent whose identity has been compromised in this manner.
Here is how it works. A woman in Africa goes to Yahoo.com and sets up an email using your name. She used my middle initial, which I use solely for the Department of Real Estate and MLS, which is how I know she did not pick up my name from the various web sites where I post my listings. I am guessing she got it from Realtor.com.
She downloaded my listing photographs and posted my Land Park listing as a home for rent on Craigslist at an incredibly low rental amount. For example, this home would easily rent for $2,000 a month, and she advertised $600 a month, including utilities. She asks would-be renters to send first month's rent and a $200 deposit to her in exchange for the keys, which she promises to send upon receipt of the cash.
You might want to check on yahoo to find out if an impersonator has set up an email account with your name.
I have reported this person to Yahoo, Craigslist, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Division and the Sacramento Police Department.
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
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How did you find this out? She has an email account with YOUR name on it? Would that show up if you just do a basic search on your name? I think we should all do this. Wow, Craigslist seems to be having alot of this type of stuff lately? We always have to be on our toes.
Thanks,
Audrey
Well, Thesa, you stop it by reporting the person. This person is stealing your identity. I asked some of people who received emails from this scam artist to send me the headers, but I suspect the FBI can get them from Yahoo as well.
The thief's are getting smart! I'm not sure how you can prevent them from stealing your identity! That's scary!
Elizabeth
It is becoming a very big problem with Craigslist. How are you doing?
Sincerely
Tom Braatz
Scott: That's a good idea. But any half-witted West African knows you can also do it on hotmail or gmail or a dozen other sites. I'm still getting phone calls about that house. The scammer is telling people it's OK to look in the windows, and that all the furniture stays with the house. (The house is staged.)
Hi Tom: I'm swamped. That's how I'm doing. I'm doing triple buyer showings every day and very busy. Not that I am complaining, oh, wait . . .
Wow Elizabeth! So did anyone recognize your photo, put 2+2 together, and alert you?...or it was just the victims of the scam contacting you that clued you in? I just searched Craigslist for my own name and likeness...nada thank goodness!
On another note, good to hear you are busy...I too am swamped, and definitely not complaining about it! Congrats on getting Markham into contract!
Hi Erin: The people who contacted me just put my name into Google. Since I rank in the top whatever pages, it was fairly easy to find me. They asked if I was renting a home that was listed for sale -- sorta put two and two together.
Isn't this market weird now? It's like, hey, buyers have figured out it's a really good time to buy! I haven't slept in 4 days. I was lucky to find time at 4 AM this morning to post a blog. I might be complaining, but I'm not, really. :)
I hear you've been facing some challenges as well. The grapevine, you know. I hope all is well with you!
Elizabeth, great information to be aware of. BTW? I checked out the blogs on Realtor.com. Saw you there as well as others I recognize. I'll be checking that out as well. Sounds like you're busy. Hopefully your buyers are "good" ones with great credit...or better yet? Cash!!! I always like that type of buyer.
Thanks, Gene. I have posted it there.
The same thing happened to another agent at my company just last week, so it's been going around. I imagine it will continue. A news report actually said it wasn't considered fraud if a person advertised a home for rent that the person did not own nor was authorized to rent. The reporter said it was fraud only if the person collected rent. I don't think the reporter even stopped to think about identify theft or copyright issues over the photos that these crooks swipe, among a host of other violations.
Elizabeth, I posted something similar when I had a friend almost scammed. I didn't realize how deep it went. Thank you for your hard work.
Elizabeth:
I've been so disappointed with the rental scams on Craigslist that I won't even advertise any rental listings there anymore. It's simply not worth the risk. One great thing you can do, with regard to some of the international scams, is simply state: No overseas applicants. Property must be viewed prior to application. It may work for you....eventually, it just didn't matter. Love Craigslist for the sale listings though.
Hi Chris: I don't believe it's legal to state a preference for a tenant. It most likely falls under the Fair Housing laws. But stating the property must be viewed prior to application is a good way to do it.
Jim: I suspect this is wide-spread fraud. It seems like there is more and more fraud these days, or maybe we're just hearing about it more often. Have you checked those small charges on your credit card statement yet? :) I swear.
Craig Newmark generally wants to know about this stuff. He's really an honest guy and will work with law enforcement to find the culprit if possible and stop it. I know the FBI doesn't take this stuff lightly. I guess this is the price of doing business in such an open environment through the internet. It shows how low people go. What I don't get is how someone would be so stupid to fall for it. Most people have a pretty good idea of what market rents are in the area they're looking to live in. Wouldn't they figure that it was too good to be true?
Caveat Emptor.
Hi Lenore: Yes, Craig's List does take these things seriously and they act right away. Soon as they were notified, the ad was pulled. As for people figuring out it sounded too good to be true, these scams work because they prey on people's propensity for greed. The "what if it was true" factor and I am the luckiest person in the world? At least they smart enough to call me, but I had some call me from the sign and STILL think they were talking to a person who wanted to rent the house.
Darleen: That's the reason I notified the FBI about identity theft. When a scammer sets up an email with YOUR name and pretends to be YOU, that's identity theft.
Billie: Didn't want to give you something new to worry about, but there is always something new to worry about. Just wait a few seconds. Yes, here is something else new. Crooks are also renting out vacant, foreclosed homes without involving agents at all.
I had just reacentaly rented a house here in Ohio and for the past 5 days now I have had 6 couples stop by to look at the house they come right up and look in the windows. I know its not there fault but when you have 2 small children you really dont want strange people comming over to your house. Do you know of any other web sites they post on besides craigslist? I tried to contact craigslist to have them remove the web page that is advertising my home but to no avail it seems to still be up there. Do you know of any other way to make them take it down?
Elizabeth,
Thank you for sharing this impotant information. It is scary to think, but unfortunately the more we use the internet the more we are exposing ourselves to the world. Hopefully they will catch the person or persons responsible for this. Identity theft is possibly the worst thing that can happen to someone. So sorry you had to experience this. Best wishes.
Michelle Pimentel, Empire Home Staging Solutions-So. CA
Hi Bob: Typically, Craigslist ads expire in seven days, assuming it's a legitimate ad. If somebody else is advertising your home for rent and that person is not your landlord, then you might want to notify Craigslist to let them know.
Thanks, Michelle and June. It never ceases to amaze me as to what the crooks will think of next.
Great Post. Thanks for Sharing! Wow---this one is new to me--and I have heard of so many!
Fraud hurts so many people on so many levels-it hurts us all in one way or another.
To help combat this disease, I created a group: Real Estate Fraud, Scams, and Ponzi schemes REPORT THEM HERE
http://activerain.com/groups/FraudAlert
Please feel free to post your blog there!
We are seeing this scam in Las Vegas but they are taking it a step further. They are finding Bank Owned homes and removing all the signs and warnings and then advertising the home for rent. They get first months rent and a security deposit and then give the renters the keys (they change the locks) to the property. A short time later there is a knock at the door and the renter then realizes they have been duped.
Hi Tony: It seems wherever there is a new misfortune or people in trouble, the crooks are already busy devising scamming schemes. They are doing the same rental scams in Sacarmento with REOs.
Thanks, Aida. I have posted it there as well. :)
I am so glad for this group. The only way to minimize this problem is to share with each other our bad experiences. Thanks
Wow thats an incredibly crazy way about theft and scam, but i do see it working. i think that is a hassle for us all and im glad i am aware of this now. thanks tons
Dominic
Hi June and Dominic: One way you can help to minimize this type of fraud is to set up a Google Alert for your listings by address. Then, you will know if scammers are advertising it as a rental.
This happens to us all the time, we post around 180 listings a week and they just copy a bunch of them, or pull them off our website. There really is no way to stop them, they're out of the country so nobody has authority there. The only thing you can do is reoprt them and force them to get a new email address and acocunt.....but they would do that anyway.
Thanks for the heads up. I will forward to my assocites.
HI THANK YOU
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THANK YOU TO ALL WHO REPLIES