There are many many apartment scams and scam artists on Craigslist trying to dupe unsuspecting apartment seekers.
What to watch for!
1. Rent is unusually low for the area/neighborhood (one ad said $780 for a one bedroom in West Hollywood)! Basically the ads that look "too good to be true" are the scams!
2. Person asks for personal information.
3. Person says they are out of town or out of the country.
4. Person tells you to go to a specific web site to get credit report.
5. Person asks you to follow a link to put in your personal information
Guide To Scam Free Apartment Hunting
1. If it looks to good to be true. It is! So don't bother responding to those type of ads.
2. Do not give out personal info such as name, address or phone number.
3. Ask for their number, check the number on google to see if it is associated with a scam and if it isn't then block your number from coming up on their caller-ID (use *67) and then call them.
4. If the person asks you to hold, hang up and tell them you will call back. Never allow them to put you on hold. Many scammers will pretend like they have another call coming in and ask you to hold during which time they are actually transferring you to an 800 number which will charge you large amounts of money per minute and you won't realize it until you get your phone bill. So holding 2 minutes could turn into $200 worth of charges. You won't hear anything either, it will just sound like you're on hold.
5. Ask for the address of the apartment immediately and look it up on Google Maps. Google Maps will give you a 360 view of the apartment and the street. If the address does not exist and google gives you an "approximate" address instead, that's a red flag. Move on.
6. If the person says they are out of town or out of the country like "on a mission in West Africa" that's a red flag. It's a scam, move on.
7. If they email you asking you to go to a specific site to get your credit report, do not click the link, do not go to the site, do not put in personal information anywhere such as social security number
8. If the number they give you is automated and asks you to pre *90 or press any number or if it is automated at all, hang up, it is a red flag that it is most likely a scam. (sometimes large management firms have automated systems but in that case the person will give you there extension)
9. If the person wants personal information from you before allowing you to view the apartment. Don't give it to them, that is a red flag.
10. When calling to make an appointment, use first name only!
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