As Dave runs both PickRent.com and RentVine.com he runs across email addresses of people that are trying to list homes for lease on his web sites that aren’t theirs to lease.  They aren’t agents for the owner either but instead scammers that hope to have people send them money and never legitimately lease you the property they have advertised. 

So far, I know of two of the properties I have had listed with my property management company, A Vantage Properties, have been “spoofed”.  Both times on Craigslist where they have “stolen” the wording and pictures I had.  Then when someone asked for more details, they sent interior pictures that did not match the style of the home.  Thank goodness, most times when I have a home listed for lease, I put a For Lease by A Vantage Properties sign out front or in the window as most people will drive by a home first.  Though there are some people that are moving to an area and are leasing “long” distance (sight unseen) so maybe the scammers are hoping that someone won’t notice until it is too late. 

So, if you are looking to lease a home, run the email address of the individual you are talking to through this new tool, http://www.pickrent.com/stuff/scammerdatabase.cfm  If you’ve emailed someone that you know is a scammer (you never see inside the home, they are going to mail you the keys from out of country, and other “red flags”), please forward that email address on to Dave by using the “contact us” link on the scammer database page.

Thanks again Dave for helping A Vantage Properties and other property managers, owners, and those looking for homes to lease with more tools to help stay safe from scammers.