Warning of a Rental Scam
According to KWWL, the Sioux City Police Department is warning of a rental scam.
The department says that they have received several complaints concerning properties advertised on Craigslist.
They say the scammer copies the information from the internet and then advertises it for rent under a fake name. The scammer claims to be out of state and will mail the key upon payment. Often, the scammer will also claim to be deaf or not have access to a phone, thus limiting communication to email or text.
Police recommend that buyers deal locally when renting or buying a home and to never send money for a rental to someone you have not met in person.
Warning of a Rental Scam
Unfortunately, rental scams and other real estate scams in Iowa are too common. How do you protect yourself from such scams?
- Don’t pay the first and last in cash. If you write a check, you might have an opportunity to stop payment on the check.
- Be wary if the rental agent says they are out of town and want you to wire money.
- Be alert if they say they’re out of the country, but they have a plan to get the keys into your hands. It might involve a lawyer or an “agent” working on their behalf. Some scammers even create fake keys. Don’t send money to them overseas. If you can’t meet in person, see the apartment, or sign a lease before you pay, keep looking.
- Don’t give a security deposit or first month’s rent before you’ve met or signed a lease
- Craig’s List offers this advice. A rental scam in Iowa had an ad with no photos. There should be photos?
- If it is priced lower than the competition, it probably is too good to be true.
- Look for spelling errors. Emails from scammers are often littered with grammatical mistakes and typos. If the email is difficult to read, lengthy, or includes a sad story, then it’s possibly a scam.
- You know questions should be raised if they do a credit check and it doesn’t matter that you have a poor credit history and two previous evictions.
- Zillow advises: With regard to requests for personal or financial information. Do not provide your bank account number or Social Security Number to unknown sources. First, verify it is a trusted source and then only provide this information sparingly.
- Call us. Harmony Property Solutions, LLC works with a lot of rental agents and are familiar with the neighborhoods.
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