Scam at the shore: Fraudulent Craigslisters duping summer renters
Ocean City, New Jersey police are investigating an online scam to bilk unsuspecting summer fun seekers out of their shore rental deposits.
Ocean City, New Jersey police are investigating an online scam to bilk unsuspecting summer fun seekers out of their shore rental deposits.
Listen:
[audio: reports20090408vacation.mp3]
Lieutenant Stephen Ang of Ocean City Police says the department is investigating multiple cases of people going to the website Craigslist in search of a rental property, and finding a phony ad.
Ang: When they arrived at the property they noticed real estate signs and they went to a local real estate agent and they found out from the real estate office the listing on Craigslist was not authorized by the owner of the property.
The ads asked for a fraction of the usual deposit. Jeff Stull of Century 21 in Ocean City says the customary deposit is designed to protect both renter and owner.
Stull: We get a third, that way the landlord is safe taking the property off the market.
Craigslist warns people using the site to watch out for fraud and report it when it’s discovered.
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