Five Money Scams to Watch Out for on Craigslist Humboldt

Humboldt area residents have been using Craigslist to conduct mutually satisfying transactions for several years. It’s a popular site for posting items for sale including furniture, automobiles, RVs and much more. In addition, people also advertise homes for rent or sale or business opportunities. While many of the ads on the site are legitimate and posted by honest people, there are also several scams that appear from time to time. It can sometimes be difficult to tell which are genuine and which are phony. To give you an idea of what to be on guard for, here are five money scams to watch out for on Craigslist Humboldt.

1. Humboldt DA warns of rental scam

Citizens in the Humboldt area are being duped out of their hard earned cash by an ad on Craigslist that posts a house on farmland for rent. They’re asking for an $875 deposit and the same amount in monthly rent. The ad is complete with photographs and a rental application. They also give the story of the owners moving overseas and this explains the foreign phone number. They instruct the applicants to complete the rental application so they can get their personal information for identity theft. Then they try to get them to send the deposit plus first month’s rent via wire funds transfer. The money is not traceable. The scammers do not own the home. They stole the information from a legitimate ad and changed the terms and contact information.

2. Owners home appears in Craigslist scam

A Bainbridge family was shocked to see an advertisement for their home on Craigslist for rent in the amount of $1,000. They didn’t place the ad. Instead, someone stole the information from their legitimate posting offering the property for sale. The owners must now deal with multiple inquiries on the home and they state that if they were to rent the home it would be valued at $1,600 a month and not $1,000.

3. Yet another Craigslist Real estate scam in the area

This scam is appearing on the Humboldt Craigslist sites advertising a remodeled home for rent in Eureka. The scammers give an Oak Harbor, Washington address and claim that they will mail the keys to the renter after payment for a deposit and first month’s rent has been received. They want personal information from potential renters before even doing a walkthrough on the property. They’re asking for $1,200 per month and they even list photographs of the home. The realtors in charge became aware of the situation and want to inform the public that they only accept applications in person at the office or through their official website. The scammer listed an affiliation with the real estate company and this type of trickery is becoming more common in these scams.

4. Car Scam

This is a common Craigslist ad that has appeared on Craigslist Humboldt as well as in other parts of the country. A person named Martha Harris responds to interested parties and demands that the payment is made via eBay, but upon research, it was discovered that the payment had to be made via the use of pre-paid cards. They’re untraceable and the woman has gone on to post multiple ads of this nature. It’s always done by text or email and the scammers offer to ship the car offered at a very low price for its value after they receive the payment. Don’t fall for it because it’s a scam.

5. Warning to realtors about Craigslist rental scams

The warning is officially being issued to realtors who innocently list properties for sale on Craigslist. Scammers are taking the pictures and ads posted by realtors of legitimate homes for sale. They turn it into a rental ad and con innocent victims into wiring deposit and first month’s rent funds, then disappearing. They target homes that are vacant or going into foreclosure because victims can drive by and they think its legitimate. Several realtors in the area are dealing with renters attempting to move into homes that are under contract for sale with them and it’s becoming an epidemic.