If The Rent Is To Good To Be True lt Could Be A Craigslist Scams

As often discussed on Cougar Room Mates, finding the perfect apartment and or room mate situation is not always easy.  Many apartmenst that are listed on Craigslist are scams.  There letters always set a tone.  Here is an example of one we recieved today.

After reading these letters and seeing the beautiful apartment for rent at a true good to believe price (which is one of the big clues) you are instructed to send important information about yourself or wire money.  Always be careful.

Craigslist Rental Scam Letter #1

Thanks for writing regarding my apartment, before we proceed on this rent I'd like to make a brief introduction about myself.. I am James  Beals by name, a psychologist.  Am 43yrs old married with my lovely wife and Daughter.  The nature of my work has made me much of a traveler and has really exposed me to different types of race.. My Family and i moved down to Pennsylvania USA some months ago and that is the reason why i need a responsible roommate. The apt is  available immediately. It is located at.  ##########, ######,######

This unit is Available for immediate move in. It's a Modern 2 bedroom & 2 bathroom 950 square foot apartment, strategically located in a very cool and lovely environment with five (5) appliances including dish washer with in-suite laundry room and plenty of storage space. Professional and mature neighbors ensure peaceful living arrangements.  Utilities such as heater, washer/dryer, electricity, Internet are also included in the rent.

  I am looking for a peaceful and responsible person to rent the room and also help me look after the whole apartment. The tenant will be the only occupant of the whole apartment and will have full privacy. The rent per month for the room is $600 including utilities and the deposit is $400. I want you to know that I am a kind and honest man and i also spent a lot on my  property that I want to give you for rent, so I will solicit for your absolute  maintenance of the apartment and I would want you to treat it as your own, I  would like you to keep it tidy all the time I also want you to let me have trust in  you as I always stand on my word.  I will like you to drive by to the building today to view the exterior of the building for you to know where the apartment is located or Google it if you are not able to go view it physically and get back to me if you like it so that I can forward the full interior pictures for you to view and have an idea how beautiful and spacious the inside looks and then we can proceed to the next step which is the application process.

Thanks for taking your time in witting me and hope to hear back from you.

Regards.
  

Beals

Letter #2 that follows hours later

Thanks for your interest in my apartment. Once again the rent per month is $600 and the deposit is $400. rent and deposit is required. The room is available for move in immediately. The building is in a great location situated in the quiet and safe area and offers secure access. utilities again include Internet, cable, laundry in-suite, storage facilities, heat, water, electric and parking are included in the rent. I can rent the apartment to you either long term or short term.

I want you to understand that due to my present move to Pennsylvania with my family you will not be able to view the inside of the apartment in person because the keys and documents of the apartment are with us here in PA. The reason is that we tried to look for an agent that we could give the document & the keys before we left but could not find any trusted one as a matter of urgency and we don't want our home misused in our absence by just handling the apartment to any agent or friend that is why we took the keys and documents along with us and have decided to rent it our self and pray that with the help of God i will be able to get a good, responsible and God fearing person who will rent the room and take absolute care of my apartment. So once we have concluded on the rental arrangement , i will be shipping the keys and documents to you through DHL courier express delivery directly to you.

Attached are the interior pictures for you to view and have an idea how beautiful and spacious the inside looks. Let me know if you are interested so i can email you the Application form Today. My number is ###-$$$-####
I look forward to hearing from you ASAP.

Regards


Beals