Okay, so by now we are all hip to the e-mail scam where a barrister from Nigeria is reaching out to us to let us know we have inherited some huge amount of money. This scam has been around forever and apparently the Nigerian criminals behind that con have come up with a new one to bilk you out of your cash.
Any type of crime like this is commonly referred to as a 419 scam. 419 is the Nigerian penal code that applies to crimes of this sort. The latest of these 419 schemes to hit the scene revolves around phony online rental ads.
The con is actually quite simple and here is how it works. You need to rent a place and check out any of the online rental sites such as Craigslist. Once you find a suitable apartment you contact the owner to make rental arrangements. Low and behold, the owner is out of the country, in Nigeria, on urgent business but you can wire him the first and last month’s rent. Thinking you have secured your new home, you arrive only to find out the owner has no idea what you are talking about.
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With the housing market tight, and more people renting, the Nigerian scamsters have decided to stalk a new prey. In fact, the problem has grown so large in South Carolina that the Columbia FBI recently issued a warning. Other states hit hard include Rhode Island, Illinois, Colorado, and California.
In some cases the crooks take the scam even further by getting renters to fill out phony credit applications<. Once they have this information the Nigerian criminals use it to commit identity fraud and steal even more money from their victims.
Here are some thing you can do to avoid becoming a victim of this latest 419 scam:
- Only deal with landlords or renters who are local
- Be suspicious if you’re asked to only use a wire transfer service
- Beware of e-mail correspondence from the "landlord" that’s written in poor or broken English
- Research the average rental rates in that area and be suspicious if the rate is significantly lower
- Don’t give out personal information, like social security, bank account, or credit card numbers
If you suspect a scam, have already been victimized, or know someone who has fallen victim to a scam, please report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.