Craigslist scam: Home rental in Portland is too good to be true
Scammers appear to be looking for personal information on rental forms and deposit checks to cash
Saturday, July 19, 2008
LAURA GUNDERSON
The Oregonian Staff
Everything about the online ad for the cute rental house in North Portland sounded good to Annette Barrackman: three bedrooms, a good neighborhood and the screaming deal of $1,000 a month for rent -- utilities included.
Then she drove by and was surprised to see a "For Sale" sign in the front yard. The home's owner and real estate agent were equally surprised to hear Barrackman's -- and soon, a dozen others' -- inquiries about the supposed rental.
The rental on North Yale Street is part of what officials suspect is a labor-intensive twist on the usual Internet phishing scheme that more typically blankets thousands of people online, looking to trick them into supplying personal information.
In this case, however, someone copies details and pictures from existing local for-sale listings, tweaks wording and posts the ad on the Portland page of the freewheeling classified ad site Craigslist.com. The goal, it seems, is to pick up data from e-mailed rental applications and ultimately cash deposits from Portlanders who may be a little more willing to ignore red flags in the red-hot rental market.
Several cities nationwide have posted online warnings about such scams, though local officials aren't sure of its reach here.
Craigslist representatives, who have since pulled the ad that Barrackman found, could not be reached for comment.
"It was really a good deal. It made me wonder, but at the same time, you don't want to miss out," said Barrackman, who had figured out the house wasn't for rent by the time she received the fraudulent application Tuesday that asked, among other things, for her name, address and monthly income.
When housing values are high and mortgage-financing tightens, rental rates tend to rise, fueling a feeding frenzy on available and affordable homes and apartments. Rising gas prices also may be encouraging some to move closer to their jobs, schools or transportation hubs, putting more pressure on close-in renters.
"I'm getting calls from people in Sandy saying they can't afford to live out there anymore," said Jim Kight, past president of the Rental Housing Association of Greater Portland, who's owned rental properties for 25 years.
Kight, also a Troutdale City Councilman, said renters outbidding each other for good homes have helped drive his rates up 10 percent and 15 percent from a year ago. The usual annual growth rate, Kight and other landlords said, hovers between 5 percent and 8 percent.
"This rental market isn't hot; it's beyond that. It's steaming," said Kight, who received more than a dozen calls after recently placing a rental ad on Craigslist. By day's end, he said, he'd received 60 calls. "The sad part is that this kind of market opens it up for these kinds of scams."
Barrackman found the ad on Craigslist a week ago and corresponded with the alleged owner, who wrote that he was out of town and suggested Barrackman drive by and take a look. The low price tickled her suspicions, as did some wordings that sounded as if the alleged owner spoke English as a second language.
"They were just little things, but it was different, like he listed utilities as 'heat and hydro,' not water," Barrackman said.
The e-mail, from the address davidjohnsongod@gmail.com, continued, "Thanks for the interest you have on the house. The house is currently available, the lease began (sic) as soon as you are ready. Below is information about the house."
Barrackman said she has seen several similar listings since, many that include an alleged owner's personal e-mail address -- not the anonymous e-mail through Craigslist -- but no local phone numbers.
In a follow-up Tuesday, the e-mailer provided Barrackman with interior pictures -- the same posted on the home's listing with The Hasson Co. -- and a rental application.
Declan O'Connor, the Hasson agent who represents the true owner, reported the fraudulent ad to Craigslist, which removed it.
"I've heard about this a few times but never had it happen before," O'Connor said. "Unfortunately, my phone has been ringing off the hook for folks looking to rent (the home)."
Several other local agents said they've heard similar real estate scams, such as one investigated by police in which fraudsters created similarly fake ads of homes on the market, gained access to the homes, toured prospective renters, then collected deposits, first-month's rent and data-filled rental applications.
Late last month, the state attorney general's office barred Florida-based Tenant Marketplace Inc. from operating in Oregon after it allegedly compiled local rental information without landlords' permission and charged customers $149 for listings that were often out of date.
The company agreed to pay $10,000 in state fines and to provide customers with full refunds within the next six months.
Laura Gunderson: 503-221-8378; lauragunderson@news.oregonian.com
Scammers appear to be looking for personal information on rental forms and deposit checks to cash
Saturday, July 19, 2008
LAURA GUNDERSON
The Oregonian Staff
Everything about the online ad for the cute rental house in North Portland sounded good to Annette Barrackman: three bedrooms, a good neighborhood and the screaming deal of $1,000 a month for rent -- utilities included.
Then she drove by and was surprised to see a "For Sale" sign in the front yard. The home's owner and real estate agent were equally surprised to hear Barrackman's -- and soon, a dozen others' -- inquiries about the supposed rental.
The rental on North Yale Street is part of what officials suspect is a labor-intensive twist on the usual Internet phishing scheme that more typically blankets thousands of people online, looking to trick them into supplying personal information.
In this case, however, someone copies details and pictures from existing local for-sale listings, tweaks wording and posts the ad on the Portland page of the freewheeling classified ad site Craigslist.com. The goal, it seems, is to pick up data from e-mailed rental applications and ultimately cash deposits from Portlanders who may be a little more willing to ignore red flags in the red-hot rental market.
Several cities nationwide have posted online warnings about such scams, though local officials aren't sure of its reach here.
Craigslist representatives, who have since pulled the ad that Barrackman found, could not be reached for comment.
"It was really a good deal. It made me wonder, but at the same time, you don't want to miss out," said Barrackman, who had figured out the house wasn't for rent by the time she received the fraudulent application Tuesday that asked, among other things, for her name, address and monthly income.
When housing values are high and mortgage-financing tightens, rental rates tend to rise, fueling a feeding frenzy on available and affordable homes and apartments. Rising gas prices also may be encouraging some to move closer to their jobs, schools or transportation hubs, putting more pressure on close-in renters.
"I'm getting calls from people in Sandy saying they can't afford to live out there anymore," said Jim Kight, past president of the Rental Housing Association of Greater Portland, who's owned rental properties for 25 years.
Kight, also a Troutdale City Councilman, said renters outbidding each other for good homes have helped drive his rates up 10 percent and 15 percent from a year ago. The usual annual growth rate, Kight and other landlords said, hovers between 5 percent and 8 percent.
"This rental market isn't hot; it's beyond that. It's steaming," said Kight, who received more than a dozen calls after recently placing a rental ad on Craigslist. By day's end, he said, he'd received 60 calls. "The sad part is that this kind of market opens it up for these kinds of scams."
Barrackman found the ad on Craigslist a week ago and corresponded with the alleged owner, who wrote that he was out of town and suggested Barrackman drive by and take a look. The low price tickled her suspicions, as did some wordings that sounded as if the alleged owner spoke English as a second language.
"They were just little things, but it was different, like he listed utilities as 'heat and hydro,' not water," Barrackman said.
The e-mail, from the address davidjohnsongod@gmail.com, continued, "Thanks for the interest you have on the house. The house is currently available, the lease began (sic) as soon as you are ready. Below is information about the house."
Barrackman said she has seen several similar listings since, many that include an alleged owner's personal e-mail address -- not the anonymous e-mail through Craigslist -- but no local phone numbers.
In a follow-up Tuesday, the e-mailer provided Barrackman with interior pictures -- the same posted on the home's listing with The Hasson Co. -- and a rental application.
Declan O'Connor, the Hasson agent who represents the true owner, reported the fraudulent ad to Craigslist, which removed it.
"I've heard about this a few times but never had it happen before," O'Connor said. "Unfortunately, my phone has been ringing off the hook for folks looking to rent (the home)."
Several other local agents said they've heard similar real estate scams, such as one investigated by police in which fraudsters created similarly fake ads of homes on the market, gained access to the homes, toured prospective renters, then collected deposits, first-month's rent and data-filled rental applications.
Late last month, the state attorney general's office barred Florida-based Tenant Marketplace Inc. from operating in Oregon after it allegedly compiled local rental information without landlords' permission and charged customers $149 for listings that were often out of date.
The company agreed to pay $10,000 in state fines and to provide customers with full refunds within the next six months.
Laura Gunderson: 503-221-8378; lauragunderson@news.oregonian.com
