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Rental scams so common that some owners police Craigslist
NORFOLK, Va. – June 17, 2019 – Frank Ramaekers III has turned away people who have paid to stay in his beach rental homes in Virginia Beach. The problem? They hadn't paid him, they'd sent their money to a scammer on Craigslist.
Ramaekers said it's difficult to turn away families with their cars packed full of luggage, beach chairs, umbrellas and toys. He asks where the crestfallen vacationers booked and the answer is always the same – Craigslist.
"Last year, I had an individual rent one of our homes for $2,000 for the month of July ..." he said. "It was all done through Craigslist and it was 100% a scam. They showed up and said they're ready to check in."
During the same month, a man and his family came all the way from Panama and claimed to have rented the home. The man became upset and aggressive when he found out he couldn't stay at the house and had lost his money, but the house was occupied by other renters at the time, said Ramaekers.
"I immediately knew they got scammed," he said.
Craigslist and vacation rental websites like Airbnb have made it easy for homeowners to rent their properties, and for consumers to find them. But the increase in Internet listings has brought more fake listings posted by scammers. Virginia Beach property owners, for example, are more often finding scam victims, who thought they had booked a bargain online, waiting at their doors.
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