{"id":71763,"date":"2023-03-07T08:13:11","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T13:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/?p=71763"},"modified":"2023-03-07T08:13:11","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T13:13:11","slug":"scam-alert-list-an-airbnb-rent-it-for-showings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/?p=71763","title":{"rendered":"Scam Alert: List an Airbnb, Rent It for \u2018Showings\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A scam converts Airbnb listings into discounted \u201cHome for sale\u201d ads targeting first-time buyers. If a buyer asks to tour the home, the scammer rents it for a day to do so.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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PORTLAND, Ore. \u2013 Airbnb hosts in Oregon are warning of a new scam, saying that some guests could be using local Airbnb properties to take advantage of first-time homebuyers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never realized that there could be any fraud scheme that would represent a home for sale,\u201d said Melissa, a new host on Airbnb who is renting her home in Northeast Portland to travelers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI received a Facebook message request from a good Samaritan in Happy Valley,\u201d Melissa said. \u201cHer name is Kellie, and she let me know that she saw that my home was listed for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melissa searched her home address and found out it was listed on the site For Sale By Owner for half of what her house is really worth, available in cash to first-time homebuyers only.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got really scared because I had no idea who had posted it,\u201d Melissa said.<\/p>\n

Luckily, the woman who manages the property for Melissa noticed that something was fishy with her most recent Airbnb guest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she showed up, she didn\u2019t have any luggage, went into the property, was in there for a very short period of time, and then people started to show up and walked into the home,\u201d said the property manager.<\/p>\n

Then Melissa checked the surveillance footage for herself, only to find out that the \u201cguest\u201d was impersonating a real estate agent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw the guest had checked in at 3:03 p.m. and then shortly after, there was a really nice family that came to the home at 3:44 p.m., and when I listened to the audio, I realized that the guest was impersonating a Realtor, a real estate agent, and that the family was there to view the home,\u201d said Melissa.<\/p>\n

Home surveillance also captured the Airbnb guest inviting another mother with a baby inside, presumably for a viewing, soon after the first family left.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Kellie Roth-Sarmiento, the same good Samaritan who tipped off Melissa to this issue, connected her with another host, Greg, also in Northeast Portland, whose Airbnb was fraudulently up for sale, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ironically ended up being with this same fraudster,\u201d Melissa said. \u201cShe had booked his home the day after my home, and she showed his home on two different occasions to two separate families. So I would say for hosts, really ensure that you have a ring camera.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melissa\u2019s property manager said the homes were being listed for ridiculous prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will put these houses on the market in a very unrealistic price and list them for sale by owner,\u201d the property manager said. \u201cNo real estate agents are involved and they are scamming people for money and then they\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fraudsters were also likely preying on vulnerable first-time homebuyers who may not have known anything was amiss.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to stop the scam artists so that they\u2019re not able to continue scamming people for cash who are hardworking people,\u201d said the property manager.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Airbnb called such scams \u201crare,\u201d but did confirm the alleged fraudster\u2019s account has been suspended amid an investigation.<\/p>\n

The Portland Police Bureau added that they\u2019ve received reports of similar scams, but they\u2019re not aware of such schemes being widespread at this time.<\/p>\n

CrimeDex, which is an info-sharing site the Portland Police Department uses, recorded one recent instance of a group from NYC posting fake Airbnb \u201cfor sale\u201d listings and operating in multiple states.<\/p>\n

The FTC\u2019s Consumer Sentinel Network reports 183 complaints within the last year related to \u201cAirbnb\u201d and \u201cbusiness imposters.\u201d However, only around half concern a similar scam to the ones reported in Northeast Portland.<\/p>\n

New homebuyers concerned about being scammed are urged to protect themselves. Officials urge home-seekers to never write a personal check to an individual buyer, but to rather use a title company or an agent. Also, when houses are in great condition and listed for well below market value of the surrounding homes, that\u2019s a major red flag.<\/p>\n

The local hosts in Northeast Portland suggest that Airbnb hosts be on alert and regularly check online to see if their properties are being posted fraudulently for sale on any sites like For Sale By Owner, Redfin or Zillow.<\/p>\n

By Elise Haas<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A scam converts Airbnb listings into discounted \u201cHome for sale\u201d ads targeting first-time buyers. If a buyer asks to tour the home, the scammer rents it for a day to do so. PORTLAND, Ore. \u2013 Airbnb hosts in Oregon are warning of a new scam, saying that some guests could be using local Airbnb properties […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[9,25,59],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71763"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71763"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71764,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71763\/revisions\/71764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}