Be Aware of Rental Scams

Rental scams are all over the place these days, so it is more important than ever to arm yourself with the knowledge it takes to avoid these scammers. These individuals are out to get your personal information and your money. With so many college students renting homes and apartments, it’s critical to be able to spot one of these scams. This article discusses how to avoid rental scams.

Go check our Top Tips for Tenants and Landlords To Avoid Property Renting Scams

Email Rental Scam

There are some common themes that a rental scam email message includes. Here are some tips to help you identify whether the email is legit or a scam.

1. Does the person discuss moving in to the property sight unseen?
2. Was the email sent from a free email provider such as Gmail, AOL or Yahoo?
3. Does the email use the words God, Nigeria, Doctor or Cashier’s Check?
4. Does the email sender use a lot of capitalization?
5. Are there a lot of misspellings and character mistakes in the email?
6. Does the email address you as Madam/Sir?

If the email that you received is not from a trusted source and uses some of these common themes it is probably a scam. If you are every unsure, just go ahead and delete the email.

Read also:

>>> Tips and guide to landlords and whoever wants to rent out their place
>>>  Tips for flatmates in search for spare rooms, flatmates and rental rights.

Rental scams: Money Order Scam

The money order scam used on renters has been incredibly devastating because it has worked so well on so many people. The scammer advertises an incredibly cheap rental property on a free classified website and the renter contacts them for more information. The scam artist tells the renter that he is on business out of the country. The scammer asks the renter to wire money to one of the renters friends to make them feel comfortable with the transaction. Then the scammer asks to see the receipt. Money order receipts are all the scammer needs to pick up the money anywhere in the world.

If the deal sounds too good to be true and you can’t meet the person face to face, it is probably a scam! Protect yourself from scams as well as the unexpected in life. One way to do so is tenants coverage. This will insure your personal belongings in the event that theft or weather related events damage them. Find a policy in your area and protect your financial wellbeing from criminals and Mother Nature alike.

Scams come in all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, they have become more common in the digital age. Carefully screen mail and advertisements for things that look out of place or too good to be true. Most likely they are and theirs a scammer on the other end waiting for you to bite.