Warning: Coosaw Creek Rental scam on Craigslist.

[DJShymansky]

I think they have bigger international concerns that going after flim-flam artists. Trust me, it's a routine happening, but it's not just international. There are notorious flim-flams happening locally. I used to have to work them.

I.e., well dressed gentleman, posing as a foreigner/current military about to be sent abroad, happens upon someone at/near a bank and "manages" to get into a conversation with them about religion, God, family, etc. Trust is earned and "then" the problem comes out, usually revolving around a large sum of money that they have in an envelope/bag/etc., that they "can't" deposit into a local bank for various reasons ranging from "I'm about to be shipped out and it won't be available/it's too large a sum of cash for me to transport/the feds will find out", etc etc etc..

If somehow the victim, this "nice God-fearing person who seems trustworthy" would agree to take the $5,000+ and in return do them a favor of depositing it into the bank, and then just sending a check out to them when they arrive back home in their foreign country in 2 weeks, then they can keep $2500 of it as a bonus. But wait, the stranger is giving the victim an awful lot of money. Maybe the victim should give the stranger some collateral to make sure they don't steal from this well-meaning foreigner/military God-fearing family-man. So they go to the ATM and the victim takes out $500+ and they exchange the $500+, and the envelope full of cash (purportedly $5000+, but only a few bills are visible at any one time and surprisingly no one ever counts it!!). Everyone parts happily (some faster than others) and voila!! Someone's just been scammed.

There's a few variations, i.e. an accomplice who comes along and verifies the story, or poses as a previous "customer" of this endeavor. But the scam is basically the same. The victim is promised big money, for acting as an escrow agent, and is required to put down a little collateral to "prove their trustworthiness". The old, wow, big money for no work, scam.

A much more menacing problem, I think, are the cash-collateral loan advances sweeping the country. Predatory loans targeted at people who are already in a tight fix and need some cash to "get by". They require cash down payments (usually $900-1400) "in advance" sent via money order to Canada in order to disburse a hardship loan of $5000-10000. Google "Trust Point Lending Group", if you're curious.

[PalmettoGuy]

Has anyone contacted the police about this? You probably should, even though it's highly unlikely they're going to track down the perpetrator.

I kinda feel sorry for the folks who honestly want to start a legit Internet-based business in Nigeria.

[cape_fisherman]

Hi I had the same thing happen. at a house in ivybridge drive. The person said they were out of town and that they would send the keys when they got the money.

[sassysandy1212]

What you described is the basic scam. I receive these by email almost daily. You would think they would have come up with something new by now. It's a very sad thing when someone falls for this and gives out their bank account number and social security number. It may happen in days or months but they will clean you out. It will take forever for you to prove it wasn't you that overdrafted your account. This is a great forum to have listed. Even though Craig' advise's of such scams people still don't use their brains and fall for these crazy requests for personal information.

Originally Posted by hazeyjenn

I really appreciate the info exchanged on this forum and I wanted to give you a heads up of something I experienced first hand..

I'm keeping an eye out for a rental for my family as we transition down to Charleston and I found a few things thru Craigslist that were possibilities but I came across one that is a scam..

The listing was posted on 08/07 and looked like this..

$1500 / 4br - Country Club Living at its Finest Up For Rent (Summerville)

Reply to: Deleted email reference
Date: 2008-08-07, 7:46AM EDT


Property Description
Beautiful all brick home in one of the finest gated country clubs in Charleston. Only minutes by car from shopping, Malls, downtown Charleston, and the beaches. Three bedrooms upstairs. A large master suite with adjacent bathroom including jetted tub, shower cabin, twin vanity sinks, and water closet, and two spacious bedrooms with a Jack and Jill bathroom. Downstairs is a fourth room with full bath that can be used as a study/rec room/den-guest room or fourth bedroom. Large kitchen opens on a vaulted great room with breakfast nook and fireplace. Separate formal living and dining room and large deck off of the great room. Fully equipped kitchen and attached two car garage. Lots of closets and storage space. High quality finishing throughout the house.

HERE IS THE ADDRESS BELOW:
Deleted address

Type: Houses and Homes for Rent
Bedrooms: 4 Bedrooms
Bathrooms: 3½ Bathrooms [/font]



So, I emailed the address and she (or he) responded in broken english. They wanted some general info - name, address, occupation, # of occupants and then they claimed to be looking for 'someone to care for their home like they had cared for it' and claiming that they had to leave for business relocation and the "caretaker" who was showing the place was unreliable and had to be let go -- so I couldn't see inside the home -- just peek in the windows.. and they followed up with all kinds of 'God Bless' and 'Faith in Christ' ALSO, they said that if I liked it then to just send a check for $3000 to Kenya (where they relocated) and they would send me the rental agreement and the keys.

I had a few email exchanges with this person and I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical but I checked the house out on Zillow and it matched the description and everything looked great! A few things kept gnawing at me (peeking into windows, the broken english, check mailed to Kenya etc) so I Googled the name they were using "deleted name and with a little research I found that deleted name is actually a property manager in Charleston and she actually does manage that property -- but someone took her name and created a yahoo email address and took the info and pics off her listings website. Created this story and wanted to get checks sent to them and you would have no rental and out $3000.

I can fill in more details if you want but if you are a renter--watch out for something like this and if you have listings--make sure someone isn't scalping your website!!!

[The_Pez20]

Emailed someone about an apt. for rent in NYC...got this reply (which is very similar to another one i received)

Hello,

Thanks for the email, I am looking for responsible tenants that he/she is going to take care of the property as if it were your own and he/she will be willing to make the Property clean as we left it and have been transfered by my company to our head quarters in Abuja, Nigeria and won't be coming to the property until three or four years now and that means you are renting the Property for long term and short term lease is also acceptable. It's one of the only property for rent in a convenient neighborhood that is peaceful and safe, its situated at (nyc location). You can easily drive down there to take a look at the exterior of the house. The rent is $1000 per month and it includes the utilities such as Heat, Fireplace, A/C in wall/window, Hydro, cable, Garbage Disposal, Fridge, stove, Dishwasher, Dryer, Breakfast Bar, Dining Table and Sofa Set, Refrigerator, Canopied deck overlooking nature, internet access e.t.c. I am with the keys and the neccessary document meant for the property and the reason is that, i tried to find an agent but couldn't see a trustworthy agent after we lost our formal agent in a car accident that was why I would love you to get back to me on how you can keep my house clean and your experience with renting my Property. I look forward to hearing from you ASAP so that i can forward you an application to fill out and discuss on how to get the house for rent, also are you ready to rent it now or when? The house is available now. Thanks, Await your reply. Merry Xmas and Happy New Year