Craigslist Scams and How to Dominate Your Farm Using Video

Warning Craigslist Scams

There have been numerous scams run on Craigslist involving copying a legitimate real estate listing, photos and all, and creating a fake listing with the scammers contact information on it. These listings are usually posted for rent at a considerably low price. Anyone that inquires about the fake listing is mailed an application and asked to wire the scammer money to another country for the first months rent and a security deposit. The victim then shows up at the house and it’s actually for sale. The real owners don’t know anything about the scam listing and the victim’s money is gone. There are many, many flavors of this same scam and even some that target landlords also. If you do a Google search for “real estate scam craigslist”, you will see reports of these same scams going back as far as 2007 and possibly even farther.

Listing information is readily available across the web making it very easy for anyone to copy or reproduce. Craigslist and the FBI are aware of these scams and are each doing everything that they can to stop and hopefully prevent such occurrences.

Craigslist has posted at the top of every property that is listed for lease on their site a message that clearly warns against wiring money to out of country owners. The message also contains a link to additional detailed information regarding scams and where to report them and I have included both the message and the link below. I have also included a press release from the FBI that explains the details of one of the latest scams and also includes a link to report scams to them. As I stated before though, these can come in many different flavors so the details may be different but the basic concept is the same.

Craigslist Scam Warning and Link

Avoid scams and fraud by dealing locally! Beware any arrangement involving Western Union, Moneygram, wire transfer, or a landlord/owner who is out of the country or cannot meet you in person. More info

FBI Press Release

Check out this great post from Agent Genius Magazine about using video to dominate your farm.

Cheap and Easy Way To Dominate Your Farm Using Video

1^st To Know NOCALLNUMBER

I have received questions from agents that have been sent leads from the 1^st To Know phone system via email or text; concerning the meaning of the (NOCALLNUMBER) that sometimes appears next to the lead’s phone number. This does in fact mean that the number appears on the Do Not Call List.