Rental Scam
Rental Scam Save Email Print
Call for Action Alert
Posted: 11:09 PM Dec 23, 2008
Last Updated: 11:39 AM Dec 24, 2008
Reporter: Betty Sexton
Email Address: bsexton@kktv.com

A | A | A

This large home near Austin Bluffs Parkway and Dublin is for rent, but not from someone in West Africa.
The real owners have it listed on a military website called militarybyowner.com
But photos and information about this house were lifted by a crook and recently popped up on two other major rental websites.
Kim Preather of Colorado Springs tells me, "It stood out because of the price and because of the property. It was a huge house for such an inexpensive price."
Kim saw the house on rentals.com and wanted to jump on it. Just $1,100 a month for the four bedroom, three and a half bath home including utiltities.
But she knew something was wrong when the person answering her email used broken English, had numerous grammatical errors, and got a lot of facts wrong.
Kim adds, "I decided to contact you because I was worried about somebody's house being rented out."
We contacted the owner of the home, Cordelia Douglas and she says, "It's scary for us because we don't know who's coming around the house and what... you know they're looking at . And it's the first time we've ever faced something like this."
Cordelia knows nothing about the man claiming to be the owner who says he's in West Africa, but has heard from so many folks... she decided to put up a few warnings signs in the windows.
Bottom line, do your homework so you aren't ripped off.
Never give your personal information or cash to a stranger and only do business with someone you can meet in person.

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Posted by: Martinez Location: Southside on Dec 25, 2008 at 03:33 AM
It's a new twist on the Nigerian scam! These guys are getting more clever all the time.