Apartment Hunting Just Got More Complicated

By Angela Blue

$500/2br-Furnished apartment near Downtown Norfolk

This was the Craigslist ad that caught my attention as I was browsing through the listings one day. I’ve been apartment hunting for some time now, trying to find a decent, pet-friendly place for a good price in a safe neighborhood. Also, I’d prefer hardwood floors rather than carpet. Oh and a decent sized kitchen would be nice. Hey, a girl’s got to have her standards.

Anyhow, I responded to the ad even though it sounded too good to be true and soon got a response that went something like this:

I am currently in West Africa where I work as a volunteer with my small Christian family. We need a responsible person we can trust to take proper care of our home. Please fill out the rental application below. We are giving you all this base [sic] on trust and again I will want you to stick to your words, you know that, we do not see yet so please do not let us down with our property and God bless you more as you do this.
 
The rental application that they provided was simply a list of questions that included asking for a full address and whether the preferred method of payment was Western Union or Money Gram.

I found it odd that he asked so many questions right off and that his grammar was so terrible, but being the queen of gullibility that I am, I replied to some of the questions, but declined to put my address and preferred method of payment. Meanwhile, I had also replied to a couple other apartment listings on Craigslist, and got two similar responses from people saying they’re in Africa for volunteer work. Finally the light bulb clicked on; I was being scammed.

I immediately went to Craigslist to read about how to spot a scam, and some of the telltale signs were found in the emails I had received. For one, the person usually will say that they’re far away or out of the country for one reason or another and cannot meet in person. Also, if the deal sounds too good to be true (a furnished apartment in downtown for $500…yeah right) then it probably is. Finally if the person asks right away about how the money will be transferred, it usually means they’re planning to take your money and run.

This is what happened to many people in Hampton Roads recently as the result of a Craigslist scam. The Virginian-Pilot reported last week that police have arrested a man for placing ads on Craigslist offering rental properties that weren’t his and collecting security deposits. The respondents ended up without their money or a place to live.

I’m not advising to stop using Craigslist because it’s a great source for free advertising.  However, we should always use our best judgment to determine whether the person we’re emailing is trustworthy. As if apartment searching wasn’t difficult already!

Just to be safe, you should always deal locally with people you can meet in person, and never give out financial information over the Internet. If you suspect a scam, there are phone numbers and websites listed on Craigslist under “avoid scams and fraud.” Just because you may have recognized that the ad was a fraud, that doesn’t mean everyone will, so contact someone to prevent others from being scammed.

Luckily for me, my scam artist was lazy and couldn’t think of another location besides Africa, or I might have fallen for it. However, it’s possible that they could get more creative, so be alert, follow the guidelines and good luck finding your perfect place to live.