ORLANDO, Fla. – A scam in Central Florida involving a popular Web site attempts to prey on individuals who are looking for affordable housing.
Scam artists are using Craigslist.org to place ads for homes to rent using the same name as the actual renter but a different e-mail address. The ad promises quality homes at an inexpensive price, but the person posting the ad does not own the home, which may be occupied by legitimate renters.
Dennis Burgess, a property manager, said his name was used on a Craigslist posting by a scam artist, who offered a Caselberry home on Queens Mirror Circle for $900 per month. The four-bedroom house is nearly 3,000 square feet, sits on a ski lake and has a large back yard. It also has a pool and wood floors.
Kathy Rapp is the real renter of the home but said the day they moved in was quite bizarre.
"We had four people look at the house on the day we moved in, thinking that the house was available and they were renting it," said Rapp, who added that people showed up with what they believed to be legitimate leases.
"I showed one person the lease, and they didn't believe me," Rapp said. "I was shocked, amazed, so I called Dennis right away," Rapp said. "He didn't know. He had to look into it further." Burgess said he then discovered that someone had designed an ad and placed it on Craigslist, a site where you can buy, sell and rent items.
"Apparently they'd used my actual ad (and) changed something around, changed the e-mail address," Burgess said.
The fake ad listed a price of $900 per month but later disappeared, causing several people to track down the real Burgess.
"They actually spoke with a Nigerian Dennis Burgess -- accent is just a slight bit different. This gentleman was still telling (people) to wire money, $900, and once he'd got the money, he'd give them the keys and ready to move in," Burgess said.
A would-be renter kept an e-mail exchange with the scam artist, who wrote that he is "Dennis Burgess, the owner of the house you are making enquiry (sic) of." The e-mail said he was in "Nigeria for an international Christian follower's crusade" and that he is "kind, honest and trustworthy."
The scam artist sent a form, asking personal questions, such as "Do you smoke?" and "Do you work late at night?"
The would-be renter asks for proof that he?s the owner, and an e-mail stated, "You have nothing to worry about, with trust that we are letting our house to you people cause we found your application satisfary (sic) and want to have you people occupy the house."
"It hurts my name, weighs heavy on me, because it's Dennis Burgess. Their leases are drafted Dennis Burgess, at least at first look, they think I've deceived them. I hate that," said Burgess, who had to inform dozens of would-be renters who nearly wired $900 via Western Union.
"I can't really say I'm surprised," said Florida Department of Law Enforcement Agent In Charge Wayne Ivey. "The economy is tough. A lot of people are looking for that great deal out there. The criminals know that, and they're taking advantage of it."
Ivey said the amount of scams has increased lately.
"Because a lot of these scams, especially the phishing scams, they're operated from overseas, which makes our job just incredibly tough. And even if we can identify where it came from, it makes it real hard to put a body with an arrest on them," he said.
"There are no safeguards that I'm aware of that would safeguard someone from copying your information," said Jeff Francher, realtor with the United Realty Group. Francher said Craigslist is not to blame because many realtors use the Web site as a tool to sell and rent houses.
Francher said prospective renters or buyers should research the ads, saying there?s no harm in calling a phone number or sending an e-mail. But he said you should never send any money or personal information until the property has been checked out.
Francher said using the county?s property appraiser Web site is also a good idea.
"It's a good indicator of what's fair," he said.
It will also show who owns the house.
"Don't just take it and say, 'Wow, that's a great deal. I'm going to jump on it.' Take it to that next level and investigate it, just as you would as if it's going to impact you for the rest of your life, because really it can," Ivey said.
"I want to get the word out: If something looks too good to be true, it probably is," Burgess said.