{"id":65470,"date":"2019-11-05T15:06:09","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T15:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/?p=65470"},"modified":"2019-11-05T15:06:09","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T15:06:09","slug":"the-craigslist-scam-still-around-and-still-a-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/?p=65470","title":{"rendered":"The Craigslist Scam: Still Around and Still a Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"
Scammers sometimes pull a Realtor\u2019s listing pictures and content from an ad site, often Craigslist, and repost them with minor changes \u2013 generally a lower price and different contact number.<\/div>\n
\n

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 A scam\u2019s success rate tends to decline as the public becomes aware of it. However, the Craigslist real estate scam is an exception.<\/p>\n

The scam continues unabated because it costs a scammer nothing to scrape listing information and post an ad on Craigslist. Between the scraping and posting, they only need to change the contact information, though they also tend to drop the asking price as a hook to draw in more gullible consumers.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"realtor<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

\u201cFake online real estate ads are an ongoing problem,\u201d says Juana Watkins, Florida Realtors vice president of law and policy and general counsel. \u201cReal estate remains attractive because it\u2019s so lucrative for the scammers. It costs them nothing to scrape legitimate real estate ads, edit contact info and repost in Craigslist. And a single successful scam can net them thousands of dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

In many cases, Realtors list a property and put it into the MLS, which then syndicates it to online advertising portals that consumers routinely use. That makes it difficult for Realtors to track where it appears or discover if a listing has been hacked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest concern, however, is that the criminal uses your logo that appeared in the original ad \u2013 and sometimes your name or email address \u2013 to make their fake ad appear legitimate,\u201d says Watkins.<\/p>\n

If an unwitting consumer falls for the scam, they\u2019re asked to send money to cover things like deposits, first-month\u2019s rent, etc. They often don\u2019t know there\u2019s a problem until they show up at the property and try to move in. When that fails, they then try to contact the \u201clandlord\u201d to find out what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany Realtors don\u2019t even realize there\u2019s trouble until this point,\u201d says Watkins. \u201cWhen the consumer can no longer reach the criminal, they refer back to the ad and the Realtor whose name appeared on the fake listing. They get your contact information and then call you. Realtors aren\u2019t liable for stolen information that\u2019s used for fraudulent purposes, but this can create havoc in the marketplace.\u201d<\/p>\n

What you can do<\/h3>\n

Monitor listings:<\/strong> Assertively protect data from illegal use by monitoring listings. Each search engine has a tool that allows Realtors to set \u201calerts\u201d if certain information is posted online. Google, for example, has \u201cGoogle Alerts.\u201d By signing up, you\u2019ll receive a notification every time that listing information shows up on a website.<\/p>\n

Report fraud:<\/strong> While it\u2019s difficult to find and prosecute cybercrime, it\u2019s not impossible. If you find a rental scam based on one of your listings, contact the website where it appears. You can also report the crime to:<\/p>\n