Renee from Tacoma writes in with a Craigslist scam that I have warned about before.
i know how we all love craigslist good deals and stuff but after trying to find a house for rent here in tacoma i also found a big scam! there is someone going to rental houses.com and copying the info and putting it on craigslist for a way cheaper amount.they also change the email addresse each time.they wrote me saying they were working in africa and needed someone to take care of there house.they also wanted me to send 300.00 to get the key.this told me it was a scam.i ended up finding the real owner who said this was the 6 th time someone has posted his house on there and stoled his info..this was ONE of the adds please note there are like 4 more too.crazy...
Here is the ad that Renee says started this whole fiasco:
$1000 / 3br - 3 BR / 2 BA HOUSE AVAILABLE NOW (Tacoma, WA )
One level, 3bdr, 1.5 bathroom, bonus room for office/ family rm / guest room. Hardwood floors throughout except kitchen and bonus room. 2 car garage w electric openers. Gas fireplace & furnace. Comfortable kitchen includes refrigerator with water and ice dispenser and range. No dishwasher. Also space for small dinnette. Large, leveled, fenced backyard with two sheds, great for kids. W/D hook-up in garage. Quiet neighborhood. Elementary school at street's end. Middle and High school within 2 miles. Close to shopping centers, grocery stores, and bus line. YMCA one mile. Point Defiance Park and Zoo two miles away. 20 minutes to McChord. 25 minutes to Fort Lewis. Public 9 hole golf course one block. Easy access to Highway 16. Tacoma Community College few miles away. Univ of WA (Tacoma) and Univ of Puget Sound minutes away.
I followed up on a scam exactly like this one a few months back, and actually talked to the supposed landlord on the phone. He wanted me to pay him the first month's rent, and he wanted it badly. He called me dozens of times, day and night from a Nigerian phone number, demanding that I send the money. Eventually he gave up.
Another example of why you need to deal locally when making large purchases. The warnings are posted all over the place on Craigslist.
Nicole writes in, with another Craigslist horror story:
I have a story for you! I posted an item on CL for $450 and I think I have a person from Africa or wherever those people are that try to get into your bank account E-mailing me about an item I posted. I am not sure who to E-mail on here but I figured I would send it here and you point me in the right place. He told me that he would give me a check overnighted if I took down the item today, and sent him my name, address, plus my phone number. I could tell it was a scam from that point, because my ex got scammed over 10,000 dollars. Thanks for reading this ..
Nicole, first of all, good for you for recognizing this as a scam. Chances are, this scammer is not trying to steal your bank info, but rather just trying to dupe you out of your money. the way they do it is to send you a check (which is probably bogus), in hopes that you'll send them the item. They will probably also try to send you a bogus check for over the amount of the item, with instructions to wire back a portion of it.
I have another story on Craigslist scams coming up next week. They are becoming very prevalent.
a viewer named Jennifer from Kenmore, says her father is a magnet for check scams. This is a good heads up for how these cons work.
Hi Bill - I thought of you after going through this with my father. He has beeen quite the target for mail fraud. Just recently he received 3 checks from lottery co.. He was able to cash the checks and then was required to wire large sum of $ back to receive the balance of his winnings. Luckily he is to cheep to return the wire. The checks deposited then bounce and he in return will owe the bank. Luckily we caught this and put a freeze on the $ so he was not out much. The checks are real and issued on closed bank accounts. In checking with the banks these companies have several accounts open and close them in a short period of time.
I brought this to your attention, after watching an episode on fraud that you did a couple of weeks ago.
Thanks Jennifer.
Probably the most disturbing part of these scams and ripoffs is how ruthless the perpetrators are. They target the elderly, and so it becomes an entire family's problem. It's really up to us to watch out for our parents and make sure that they aren't being taken advantage of like this. Good on you, Jennifer, for fighting back against this kind of fraud. We all need to be diligent these days.
Michelle is getting some annoying scam phone calls:
We have been receiving calls from a number that only identifies itself as "marathon, Fl". They have correctly given us the last 4 digits of one of our credit card numbers and offered us "free gas". We have told them numerous times we are not interested and if they have sent us something we will send it back and to please stop calling us. They will not stop calling. I called the number left on my caller id only to recieve a message stating "Hello, thank you for calling back, this company is working dilligently to steal your identity, press 1 for more information" Then what happens is it says the mailbox is full and cannot recieve any more messages. I have contacted the FTC and filed a complaint. Thought you would want to know and maybe spread the word. The number we recieve the calls from is Marathon Fl 305-848-1247. Thanks Bill and have a great day :)
Happy to spread the word about this one. I called the number and recieved a "not valid or blocked from your area code" recording. It's a pain that you had to deal with this, but I applaud you for having a sense of humor about it. You did the right thing filing a complaint with the FTC. I would also make sure that you get on the national "do not call" registry, and add that number to it.
I'm also seeing more of the bank phishing scams, that look so real that you are tempted to click on the link to update your account.
It looks something like this:
Important Notice To Credit Card Account Holder's
_______________________________________________________
To take advantage on a low interest rate on all transactions on
Balance Transfer, update on your information is needed to be
updated in our newly upgraded database to take advantage in ,
this special offer before August 11th 2008.
Kindly update your Credit Card Account details
https://www.bankofamerica.com/loc/cgi-bin/
Thank you for your patience as we work together to protect your account.
Sincerely,
Bank of America Customer Service
*Important*
Please update your records on or before 48 hours.
_________________________________________________________
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC.
Again, the scam email has the real Bank of America logo and asks for you to update your account. It looks legit, but understand that your bank will not contact you randomly in this way. They will not ask you to "update" your information.
If you have questions about your account, or about any correspondence you have received from anyone claiming to be your bank, just contact them and they'll set the record straight for you.
I'm Bill Wixey, keeping your money safe.