Marketing Your Home on CraigsList Means Discerning Serious Buyers from Scammers

Fox 12 News is reporting a new take on a (relatively) old scam.

For one local apartment manager getting flooded with calls about her vacancy, it turned out to be a bad thing.

[snip]

It started, innocently, when a legitimate advertisement about the property was posted on Craig's List. Things went wrong when con artists copied the ad, sweetened the deal and dropped the price. Asking would-be renters to wire them a cash deposit in Nigeria.

"And it looks like one of them was about to send money to these people in Africa," said Roth.

While Roth doesn't want her apartment complex named, she says while clearing up the mess, she got copies of what the scammers sent out from a mother who barely stopped her 18-year-old daughter from sending the con artists money through Western Union.

We've all heard about the "wire money to Nigeria scam" that even smart consumers have occasionally fallen prey to. Copying ads and redirecting readers is a new low.

The most common attempt aimed at scamming me is replying to our CraigsList listing ads. Here's a recent example:

I am interested in buying this house. What are the extra costs like taxes, heating, electric, insurance? Does house need any repairs? Can it be bought with any furnishings? Is it possible to rent with option to buy? Do you have any pictures of the house interior and exterior that you can send with an E-mail?

Let me know. Thanks!

Regards,
The Scammer with Nothing Better to do With My Life

Our real estate listings always include photos and links to our website, which would answer the question of furnishings and, oh, pictures of the interior and exterior!

Usually the questions are worse, and sometimes the emails are more detailed. "I'm moving from London and my agent in Boise will be handling everything."

Ignore these emails. They're a waste of your time. If you have a serious buyer on your hands they won't ask for photos when there is a link to see the house from 50 different angles, and they won't ask about repairs.