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Local renters flag Craigslist scam [The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.](Record-Eagle, The (Traverse City, MI) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 04--TRAVERSE CITY -- A person who posted an advertisement on the online site Craigslist posed as a deceased woman as part of a rental home scam, but local renters weren't buying what the Internet swindler offered. An ad for a State Street home appeared on Craigslist last week. It didn't take long before Traverse City real estate agent Bill Ptak, who's listed on a for-sale sign in front of the residence, began to receive calls about the ad. Ptak spoke with several people who said they exchanged emails about renting the house with someone named Renee Waters. One problem, Ptak said: "Who happens to be the homeowner, and who happens to be deceased as of about a month ago," he said. Such rental scams often appear on Craigslist in the Traverse City area. Ptak said Internet con-artists troll real estate websites listings and craft fake rental ads using information they find. Some may even sift through tax rolls to find homeowners' names -- a practice that backfired in the case of Waters' State Street residence. Several other red flags popped up as Traverse City resident Chris White scrolled through an email she received after contacting the Craigslist ad poster. The $700 per-month price seemed low for a three-bedroom home on East State Street, White said. It also seemed strange that the would-be landlord promised to ship the keys for the residence from west Africa, where she claimed to be traveling. But it was the grammar in the email -- clearly not that of a native English speaker -- that convinced White the rental ad was a fraud. "I just laughed," White said. "I read it out loud to the people I work with because it was just so ridiculous." The email, in part, explains tenants must take care of the home. "You must keep my house clean including the surrounding, you must know the way in which you use the stove so as to avoid fire outbreak," the message reads. Ptak contacted Traverse City police after he heard from White and others. Police told Ptak they couldn't do anything about the ad unless someone sent money to the would-be scammer, Ptak said. "You would think what they're doing here is illegal, so why couldn't they do anything?" he said. Traverse City police Detective Evan Warsecke said such Craigslist scams are crimes, but the majority of them are orchestrated outside the United States, making local prosecution impossible. The last Craigslist scam Warsecke investigated originated in Nigeria. "That makes it a little difficult," he said. Warsecke added he's previously reported local Internet scams to FBI agents, but they'll only pursue cases that meet a certain threshold. "They're not going to track a guy down for $500 or whatever in Nigeria," Warsecke said. ___ (c)2014 The Record-Eagle (Traverse City, Mich.) Visit The Record-Eagle (Traverse City, Mich.) at record-eagle.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |