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> One thing I don’t get is why someone else would copy your listing? Do they somehow get a slice of the pie if a respondent rents? Usually this is a scam. You

> One thing I don’t get is why someone else would copy your listing? Do they somehow get a slice of the pie if a respondent rents? Usually this is a scam. You advertise someone else's vacant property, break in to conduct tenant tours, collect fees/deposits/first month's rent, then bail.

tomcam 4y ago
Well that’s just evil. I never gave that possibility a thought.
- jstarfish 4y ago
  I tried to find a succinct name for this scheme but failed. I did find a blog where a retired attorney discusses this and some variations on it (and learned something new in the process: pulling this stunt on multiple prospective tenants at the same time makes this a hell of a lot more lucrative): https://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2017/07/house-rental-scams.html https://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2017/07/house-rental-scams...
  - tomcam 4y ago
    Excellent article, thank you. And you're right, this scam needs a name.
  - O__________O 4y ago
    Basically financial identity theft and fraud combined with breaking and entering — there’s no need to makeup new names for simple combinations of crimes. Long list for crimes people commit using Craigslist. Another similar one is for an attacker to post saying your moving of the country, out of town, already removed everything you’re not taking, but asked neighbor to leave the door open and anything in house is free to take; then they simply know when you’re away, pick the lock, leave the door open, and post the listing. Unknowing strangers rob you OR have a plausible explanation of why they are robbing you.
    - jstarfish 4y ago
      Interesting. Haven't seen that one, but it's reminiscent of the "revenge" personals where you solicit randos to randomly drop in on your [ex] to fulfill their supposed rape fantasy. > no need to makeup new names for simple combinations of crimes Fraud schemes are sophisticated and the better ones are not easily understood (by victims, investigators and jurors alike). It may be unnecessary/unconventional but I find it useful to reduce the complexity of schemes to a buzzword with a common meaning that anybody can reference without ambiguity. Gets it into the popular vernacular-- everybody knows to be wary of "catfishing" without having to explain it. From the crimes they comprise to their implementation, it's function definitions all the way down: a concise, reusable reference that avoids repeat articulation of a more-complex set of behaviors :)
      - O__________O 4y ago
        If you really believe calling something 419 scam, Nigerian prince scam, or advance-fee scam will help reduce crime, have bag of money with your name on it just waiting for you to tell me where to send it. Literally had a friend once ask me how to wire money, asked why, they made me promise not to tell anyone, and then showed me scammer email. I told them I would show them how and got lucky and within few clicks tracked scammer down to a cafe in Nigeria. Told scammer I would leave them alone if they told my friend the truth and they did. Friend got mad at me told me I chased they away, and found out a week later they wired the scammer money. Yes, some scams are complex, but are not. Highly doubt telling people not to get catfished never helped anyone. If the advice of beware of something that sounds to good to be true do not help someone, giving it a fancy name for sure will not.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
nostromo 4y ago
It's also common for them to say that this apartment has "just been rented," and then show them a completely different apartment for their clients. Usually these apartments are both worse and more expensive.
code_duck 4y ago
Most of the similar scams I've seen don't involve entering and showing the property, or being even anywhere near it. A common style is to post a duplicated listing on Craigslist (it may be a house currently on the market, but often is an inactive listing on Zillow - they just need an address and matching photos) with a story written in a style that would be familiar to scam aficionados. The owner is a god-fearing good person who just wants their house to be safe while they are overseas on missionary work or in the military, and they're willing to rent it to the right people for a generous below market rate. Kindly do this-or-that, god bless you, etc. They request a sum of money, making it enticing by naming a rate 3/4 of what would be going rent for the property, and say they'll mail the key.

tomcam 4y ago

Well that’s just evil. I never gave that possibility a thought.

jstarfish 4y ago
I tried to find a succinct name for this scheme but failed. I did find a blog where a retired attorney discusses this and some variations on it (and learned something new in the process: pulling this stunt on multiple prospective tenants at the same time makes this a hell of a lot more lucrative): https://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2017/07/house-rental-scams.html https://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2017/07/house-rental-scams...
- tomcam 4y ago
  Excellent article, thank you. And you're right, this scam needs a name.
- O__________O 4y ago
  Basically financial identity theft and fraud combined with breaking and entering — there’s no need to makeup new names for simple combinations of crimes. Long list for crimes people commit using Craigslist. Another similar one is for an attacker to post saying your moving of the country, out of town, already removed everything you’re not taking, but asked neighbor to leave the door open and anything in house is free to take; then they simply know when you’re away, pick the lock, leave the door open, and post the listing. Unknowing strangers rob you OR have a plausible explanation of why they are robbing you.
  - jstarfish 4y ago
    Interesting. Haven't seen that one, but it's reminiscent of the "revenge" personals where you solicit randos to randomly drop in on your [ex] to fulfill their supposed rape fantasy. > no need to makeup new names for simple combinations of crimes Fraud schemes are sophisticated and the better ones are not easily understood (by victims, investigators and jurors alike). It may be unnecessary/unconventional but I find it useful to reduce the complexity of schemes to a buzzword with a common meaning that anybody can reference without ambiguity. Gets it into the popular vernacular-- everybody knows to be wary of "catfishing" without having to explain it. From the crimes they comprise to their implementation, it's function definitions all the way down: a concise, reusable reference that avoids repeat articulation of a more-complex set of behaviors :)
    - O__________O 4y ago
      If you really believe calling something 419 scam, Nigerian prince scam, or advance-fee scam will help reduce crime, have bag of money with your name on it just waiting for you to tell me where to send it. Literally had a friend once ask me how to wire money, asked why, they made me promise not to tell anyone, and then showed me scammer email. I told them I would show them how and got lucky and within few clicks tracked scammer down to a cafe in Nigeria. Told scammer I would leave them alone if they told my friend the truth and they did. Friend got mad at me told me I chased they away, and found out a week later they wired the scammer money. Yes, some scams are complex, but are not. Highly doubt telling people not to get catfished never helped anyone. If the advice of beware of something that sounds to good to be true do not help someone, giving it a fancy name for sure will not.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

nostromo 4y ago

It's also common for them to say that this apartment has "just been rented," and then show them a completely different apartment for their clients. Usually these apartments are both worse and more expensive.

code_duck 4y ago

Most of the similar scams I've seen don't involve entering and showing the property, or being even anywhere near it. A common style is to post a duplicated listing on Craigslist (it may be a house currently on the market, but often is an inactive listing on Zillow - they just need an address and matching photos) with a story written in a style that would be familiar to scam aficionados. The owner is a god-fearing good person who just wants their house to be safe while they are overseas on missionary work or in the military, and they're willing to rent it to the right people for a generous below market rate. Kindly do this-or-that, god bless you, etc. They request a sum of money, making it enticing by naming a rate 3/4 of what would be going rent for the property, and say they'll mail the key.