I replied to a rental property ad for a home in Escondido, CA (San Diego County). The main replied with property details (address, rent/deposit amount, ammenities, etc.) and requested some basic information from me (full name, current address, place of business, etc.). I responded after viewing the outside of the property and asked some followup questions. He did not respond to the followup questions and asked that I pay the security deposit and he would FedEx the keys within 24 hours. I refused to offer payment without viewing the inside of the property. He then sent a fake lease agreement for me to sign along with information on a Renee Pierce in Harrison, Arkansas to wire the money to for the deposit. I requested that he call me.in the meantime I googled "Renee Pierce" to see if anything came up and apparently this person tries this scam routinely with several different rentals in several different areas. A Nigerian man then called claiming to be Patrick McDonald. I yelled at him that he was a fraud pulling a scam and he hung up. Beware of poor grammar and requests for money upfront when replying to any rental ad on craigslist!
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