Greg's Corner

More details about COVID rental scam

It seems the rental scammers have gone all-in during the current pandemic. Prior to the current social distancing guidelines, rental scammers would make up any excuse they could to avoid meeting their victims face to face.

In a typical rental scam, the scammer will copy a legitimate real estate ad. Usually, the property from the real estate ad is for sale. The scammer will then change the ad to appear the property is for rent before posting the phony ad on someplace like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. The fake rental rate will almost always be well below the current market value. When someone applies to the fake ad, the scammer will try to pressure the victim into sending either a deposit or first month’s rent without allowing the victim to inspect the property. The scammers would give excuses like they were out of town on business and couldn’t show the property. In many cases, scammers used to say they were overseas doing mission work for their church. The range of excuses the scammers would give would range from the ridiculous to the sublime. Now, with COVID-19 still looming as a potential health threat, the scammers have a built-in excuse not to meet with their victims.

To make matters worse, scammers are now using a new trick when questioned if an is fake. In the San Francisco Bay Area, one man questioned whether or not a rental listing on Craigslist was a scam since the property was below local market value. The scammer responded by saying that the federal government has asked property owners to lower rents during the current crisis. Of course, the federal government has done no such thing. The confusion is understandable as both local and federal governments have made many conflicting statements about the pandemic.

Usually, the scammer will ask for payment through some untraceable means like wire transfer, gift card, Cash App, or cryptocurrency. If a landlord asks for payment in any of these ways, it’s almost guaranteed to be a scam.