Five Money Scams to Watch Out for on Craigslist Quad Cities

Craigslist is an online resource that is heavily used by people in the Quad Cities area. They list a variety of items that they have for sale on the classified site. You can find furniture, electronics, automobiles, farm equipment, trucks, RVs and much more. Realtors and private home owners also list homes for rent and for sale on the site. While it’s still a good place to find what you’re looking for for a reasonable price, there are some dangers that come with using the site. Both buyers and sellers have encountered scammers who are out to steal their money. Here are five money scams to watch out for on Craigslist Quad Cities.

1. Rental scam on Craigslist Quad Cities

The Manary’s of Moline, Illinois received a disturbing call from their realtor just two days after they listed their home for sale. The realtor received calls from parties interested in renting the house. This was odd because it hadn’t been listed as a rental. They soon discovered that their original advertisement had been hijacked by scammers and offered for rent on Craigslist. The phony ad generated a lot of inquiries. It looked legitimate complete with pictures and details, but it was a total scam. The lister even created a fake email address for use in the scam. It looked official and it’s unknown how many people actually fell for the scam and wired their deposit money to the criminals.

2. Car scam on Craigslist Quad Cities

A Moline woman possted a 1996 Pontiac Sunfire for sale on Craigslist for $1,500. An interested buyer contacted her and made arrangements to send a check through the mail and said he would included a little extra for the person who would pick it up. The check arrived, but it was made out for a lot more. The total was $2,517.13 and she was to deposit the check into her bank and then send the rest to another party. She sensed it was a scam and took the check into the account it was written from. She discovered that the account had been closed and that the check was bad. She narrowly escaped becoming the victim of a scam.

3. Scott County Sheriff’s Office warn of Craigslist scam in Quad Cities

Police are warning residents about a recent Craigslist scam advertising a home at 1933 W. 38th Street for rent. The home is being offered for $650 per month in rent with a security deposition of $1,000. It’s a scammer who claims to have been transferred to a new job in Texas. He has the keys with him and will send them Fed-Ex to renters after they submit the deposit and rent amount via wire transfer. He’s offering the home as a rent to own property and claims each payment goes towards the purchase price of the home. He also warns that the realtor’s sign should be disregarded and by bypassing the realtor, the cost of the home will be cheaper. It’s a scam because the poster does not own the property and does not have the right to sell or rent it. He goes by the made up name of Dunker, Wendell H.

4. Realtors warn of yet another housing scam on Craigslist

Here is another rental scam that is circulating on the Craigslist site in the Quad Cities area. Realtor Association CEO Sue Clark-Nissen is warning area residents that there have been several home for sale ads hijacked by scammers recently. Con artists are stealing photos and descriptions of the homes from other sites and posting them as rentals. They tell prospective renters to drive by the addresses provided, but they inform them via email that they cannot tour the home on the inside until after the money has been wired for the deposit and rent. Some of these scammers even go so far as to send them a set of fake keys that do not work. None of the homes listed are actually for rent, but rather, they are for sale.

5. Fake check scam on Craigslist Quad Cities

A buyer posted a lot of aftermarket car parts for sale on Craigslist. An interested buyer contacted him and made arrangements to purchase the parts. The man agreed to the terms and agreed to send a check UPS the next day. The check arrived but was $950 higher than the greed upon price. The seller was told to deposit the check in his bank account and keep an extra $100 for his troubles, then send the rest back to the buyer through Western Union funds transfer. The check over-payment scam was reported to law officials and it was confirmed that the check had been forged