# Evil Craigslist scams targeting apartment hunters. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 5, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858 "2011-05-05T17:43:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/1 "2011-05-05T17:43:37Z")
I’m looking for an apartment. There are a lot of listings on Craigslist in my price range. However, most of them are scams. One dickhead had me fill out a whole application, which I emailed back to him, and received this in return: > [@](#): > > Dear **cuauhtemoc** , > > …we have reviewed your application form and have finally concluded to rent the apartment to you.we shall stop the advert of this apartment making you our new tenant when you make the security deposit fee of $600, please once again we need a good replacement of us in the apartment, so that we will be glad when we come at anytime to visit you to know you better. > > We strongly believe that you are a respectable and responsible person,we are sure you would be able to take great care of our apartment.Also,there’s a parking space, > we are giving you this on trust so do not disappoint us and we promise you that you will love the house and the peaceful serene environment. > below are the terms i will be sending via UPS to your address \ immediately you inform us that you have > deposited the funds, > > \ > > I would have prefer you sending the deposit to my bank account directly,but the fact that you have to at least see/view what you are renting,The funds should be deposited with Western Union. Now, in Western Union, there’s a Security Test Question and a Security Test Answer,which serve’s as a secret password to all their money transaction,the receiver must provide it before he or she can collect/withdraw the funds. You can make the deposit with your own different Test Question and Test Answer and you will not give us the Test Question and Test Answer until you receive the house keys and house documents. All you need to send to me is the MTCN Number so i can call Western Union for confirmation that the said amount was deposited. And after you receive the House Keys and Documents,you would give the Security Test Question and Answer so that i can receive the funds. > > The details to deposit the funds are found below: > > RECEIVER’S NAME: RAYMOND GRANT > ADDRESS: HOLY CROSS MEDICAL CENTER > CITY: ABUJA > COUNTRY: NIGERIA > DEPOSIT AMOUNT:$600.00 > > After you have made the deposit, send me the MTCN number so that i can confirm that the funds has been deposited and after you receive the House Keys and Documents and you are satisfied with the apartment, you can release the Security Test Question and Answer to me so that i can pick up the funds here but if you do not like the apartment, then you can go to the Western Union location where you sent the funds from and request for a refund of your money and send the keys back to me through UPS as i have a shipper’s account with UPS. > > Email me immediately the payment is been made or call \, > Hope to hear from you asap. > God Bless you richly, > Raymond Grant. Can you believe this shit? Another one I’ve been getting: I respond to an ad, saying “I’m looking to move to this neighborhood soon, I have a steady job and good credit, blah blah blah… please contact me at \.” Then I get a response back that says > [@](#): > > hi dear. > > The apartment is still available and we can meet up this week at any time. > > I will need a credit check for the viewing day. If you which to see the apartment. > > I found this link where you can have a credit check done > > [www.freecredit-reports.org](http://www.freecredit-reports.org) > > Thank you > > Jessica Apparently, one of those shady “free credit report” companies\* is putting up fake ads on Craigslist. They get you to go to their website, then offer a free credit report in exchange for signing up for their “credit protection” bullshit, which is $14.95 a month or whatever. That’s the only explanation I can figure for this garbage. I swear, people can be such fuckers. \*Everyone is entitled to one free credit report per year, by law, and you don’t have to sign up for anything. The FTC-approved website is [www.annualcreditreport.com](http://www.annualcreditreport.com), and it costs NOTHING!It doesn’t give you a credit score, you have to buy that from the individual agencies, but there’s no reason you should ever need that anyway. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/2 "2011-05-05T18:07:06Z")
The credit report scam is probably so they can steal your identity. Likely they would ask you for detailed personal information including social security numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/3 "2011-05-05T18:13:48Z")
Craigslist is one big scam-enabler site that makes no attempt to moderate itself. How it remains in operation is a mystery to me. Should I go to the pharmacy to get my prescription filled or should I talk to the guy behind the dumpster at McDonalds? Craigslist is the guy behind the dumpster, for whatever you are buying. Prostitutes, stolen cars, illegal drugs. Craig has what you want. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/4 "2011-05-05T18:13:55Z")
Thats why i never do Buisness with people who cant at least run Spell Check. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/5 "2011-05-05T18:16:25Z")
You could go 419-eater style on the Nigeria guy. The more of his time you waste, the fewer people he has time to scam. What can we say? It’s craigslist and it’s rife with scams. I’ve found more success by posting my own “housing wanted” ads than by placing emails to the “housing available” ads posted by others. It also helps to have a boilerplate email if you’re going to respond to the ads of others (how much is rent, how’s the parking situation, w/d included? etc). That way you don’t waste a lot of time if half of them turn out to be scammy. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/6 "2011-05-05T18:18:28Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > The credit report scam is probably so they can steal your identity. Likely they would ask you for detailed personal information including social security numbers. Yeah, I guess it could be that too. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/7 "2011-05-05T18:33:43Z")
> [@Gedd](#): > > Thats why i never do Buisness with people who cant at least run Spell Check. I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/8 "2011-05-05T18:46:29Z")
Nm ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/9 "2011-05-05T20:04:00Z")
Hey we got rid of / gave away our dog on Craig’s List. Knowing the “guy behind the dumpster” reputation, she took our 6’-4” 250lb friend with her to meet them in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Come to think of it we found a new home for our rabbit that same way.\* So if you want to get rid of some money, that’s a great way to do it. Though it might be safer to just throw it in the dumpster than to even look at the guy there. \*We don’t hate animals; we just found out various members of our household have various allergies. ---
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/10 "2011-05-05T20:20:55Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/11 "2011-05-05T20:31:42Z")
I got the Jessica thing too. Told the illustrious girlfriend that it’s a scam. Should we merge this with the scam-filled crapfest that is [rentals.com](http://rentals.com) thread I started and have a general thread about the shit we find when online rental hunting? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/12 "2011-05-05T21:12:38Z")
This weekend my GF was telling me about the response she got to her ad for renting out her spare room and before she finished the first sentence I said “it’s a scam” and told her exactly what was in the rest of the response and what would happen next. I earned some good brownie points for that. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/13 "2011-05-06T01:47:44Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > This weekend my GF was telling me about the response she got to her ad for renting out her spare room and before she finished the first sentence I said “it’s a scam” and told her exactly what was in the rest of the response and what would happen next. I earned some good brownie points for that. That’s impressive. What was the first sentence? “I got a response to the ad I put on Craigslist”? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/14 "2011-05-06T04:15:32Z")
> [@cuauhtemoc](#): > > That’s impressive. What was the first sentence? “I got a response to the ad I put on Craigslist”? It was something about needing to rent a place sight-unseen before rushing home to Finland to take care of an injured uncle. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/15 "2011-05-06T12:52:53Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > It was something about needing to rent a place sight-unseen before rushing home to Finland to take care of an injured uncle. Ah, the old “Injured Finnish Uncle” con. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/16 "2011-05-06T14:46:55Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Craigslist is one big scam-enabler site that makes no attempt to moderate itself. How it remains in operation is a mystery to me. Because there are a lot of us who still believe in “The buyer beware”, and learn how the system works. The deals to be had are too good to pass up. I made almost 6k last year just buying and reselling stuff while I was at work. So I welcome the scams. It keeps out the riff-raff who would otherwise eat into my profits. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/17 "2011-05-06T14:51:44Z")
A great way to see at a glance if a rental ad is a fake is to right click in the middle of the ad page; if it wants to copy the whole thing like some kind of media, it’s a fake. It’s been created as a .jpg or what have you to make it easier to repost like a mofo all over creation. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/18 "2011-05-06T17:57:33Z")
> [@cuauhtemoc](#): > > Ah, the old “Injured Finnish Uncle” con. My friend got the old ‘Daughter in the UK with breast cancer’ con. 😉 It’s terrifying, I’ve been guiding her through the process of finding a new apartment. I just had to tell her to not use Craigslist at all. It’s a giant scam here because no one uses it, everyone uses Kijiji, so you know anyone posting to Craigslist is fake. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/19 "2011-05-06T19:44:45Z")
Timely rant. I spent all day yesterday looking at apartment sites. The biggest things I ran across were the “rent to own” housing ads. The ones that say, “The house in the pictures may not be available, but…” Jesus, I won’t even rent to own a toaster. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858/20 "2011-05-07T07:25:35Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > The credit report scam is probably so they can steal your identity. Likely they would ask you for detailed personal information including social security numbers. More likely pay per signup commissions. Many such outfits pay you a dollar or two for everyone who signs up for the service via your link. A couple hundred folks later…profit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-craigslist-scams-targeting-apartment-hunters/580858.md?page=2)