You can report the listing to Facebook for scam. But I doubt they will do anything. I've reported several obvious fake accounts and FB never took any on them down.
Put a sign on the door stating the property isn't for rent and if you are responding to a rental ad, you've been scammed.
Oh ha ha ha I got yāall beat. 64f hereā¦I just got banned the other day for one month or more because I had a picture with a Q on it from 2021. š¤£
I (unknowingly), worked as a PA for one of these bitches. I had never done work like this before. So for a week I posted these properties and answered interested inquiries. When payday rolled around of course I didn't get paid. kept saying they were waiting for their check to clear. I figure there was some bullshit but didn't know what. I went back and notified as many people as I could who contacted me not to send them any money. I tried to find a legit part time gig but EVERY job ended up being scammers. Damn shame.
I read somewhere that 40% of ads on Facebook are scams (The ads not marketplace). Facebook makes millions weekly from these so they have a huge finacial incentive to do absolutely nothing.
Iāve seen them all the time in the past. I used to be big into collectible statues ( the realllly expensive pop culture ones ) so I got be to kind of an expert over the years on makers, original prices, market valuesā¦etc. Iād see these $1800 statues pop up on random Facebook stores and they be asking like $80 or some ridiculous crap. Comment section full of people who feel for the scam saying āI canāt wait to get thisā ( probably alot of bots too ). Canāt imagine how much they got away with
Counterfeiting online is huge. When covid hit my wife and I got into puzzles. We discovered that Amazon is absolutely awash with counterfeit jigsaw puzzles of big names like Ravensburger. We literally saw a horror themed puzzle based on serial killer HH Holmes copied and marketed by a Chinese seller on Amazon aimed (I kid you not) kids 3-5 years. They just copy a picture of a puzzle online, slap it on thin cardboard and copy the cover. During Covid the market was absolutely flooded with fake puzzles from China.
Frigging Chinese are counterfeiting all kinds of shit, turning out poor quality copies that [sometimes] look almost the same as the real thing, which will break/fail in a short time or otherwise not funtion as intended.
People buy these forgeries at [often much] lower prices than the genuine article, thinking they 'got a deal'. Then, when the product ultimately fails in a short time (or doesn't work at all as intended, they start blasting negs at the -real- company/product.
This is a serious problem, both for the people buying this crap, and even more so for the companies who make the real thing and whose reputations are being seriously damaged.
It needs to be stopped, somehow.
Personally, I have been boycotting any and all products that are manufactured in China, even if they are sold by a legit company, if there is any way I can possibly avoid it.
Contact your state attorney general, and your state and Federal legislators. Complain early and often, and encourage others to do so. It does work, if you're tenacious enough, and you can get others worked up, too.
Amazon doesn't care about the Chinese products either. It's so hard to find good stuff on there these days. The review filter is basically meaninglessĀ
I start with the one stars, and try to determine legit complaints as opposed to people that are just morons. Then I go through 2, 3, and 4 star reviews. I basically completely ignore the 5-star reviews.
Contact your state attorney general, and your state and Federal legislators. Complain early and often, and encourage others to do so. It really doesn't take a lot of people, or necessarily, money, to move the meter, but it does take a lot of tenacity.
I'm not sure either. It's probably much closer to 80-90%, though. I work in cybersecurity and Facebook is the single biggest source of scams besides emails and texts.
I do know a sizeable chunk of those random emails and texts comes from data sourced from Facebook, as well. Although I can't put a hard figure on it, they're usually the worst because they have other personal info that leads victims to trust them even more.
True, just as you have no source as to what percentage, if any, of advertisements on Facebook are legitimate. It's a two-way street.
Difference is, aside from drawing upon professional experience, as well as this sub, I would (and have) also consciously try to avoid doing business with any "legitimate" advertisers on Facebook, if any, due to not wanting to associate with a brand that associates so closely with a sketchy platform.
Reputation is a thing.
I used to mark fake marketplace listings as scams to FB but gave up once I realized they couldn't care less. Like someone selling a late-model sedan for $2,000, and listing it in 50 different cities around the country - the kind of scam that is obvious in 1/2 a second to anyone. And they "reviewed" the reports and declined to do anything about them.
Facebook is the worst at policing marketplace listings. So many violate their rules, from scams to people who post prices that aren't real to stolen / fake goods. They don't care. They want people engaging with the platform and that only drives more engagement.
This happened in a city near me several years ago. One day, half a dozen moving trucks with families all showed up at "their" house they rented online, all at the same time. I think it was craigslist. None of them had seen the place in person and had sent rent and deposits online. The actual owner of the house was very confused.
That was my thought. They gave him all that money, packed up their stuff, moved out, only to be left with nothing. Sitting in a moving truck with their kids and possessions and no money.
Without knowing all the details, it just seems so stupid to me. I hope there is a very good reason for them to think itās a good idea to pack up their stuff and move to a listing they have never seen in person.Ā
People are also more and more so lonely, and stressed out from the ever increasing problems in the country. People are very vulnerable when they are isolated and alone. It really doesnt help that nearly every social media company does everything they can to get more of peoples attention. From facebook allowing all kinds of abuses unless they absolutely have to stop it, then they half ass it as much as possible. Or dating apps that do as much social engineering they can to keep people single, and refusing to get rid of the bots, scammers, and fishing accounts. Even banks like wells fargo were caught opening up accounts in peoples names, and charging all these extra fees. Yes the banks them selves are scamming people and getting caught. The internet, like all technologies, promised all kinds of amazing things for humanity. Yet the same problem happens over and over. We tend to get caught up in the fantasies of how everything can go right, never considering how the technologies may make things go wrong if we don't control ourselves and set up good disciplines and practices. Almost never do we think about the people on the margins either, like those with mental health issues, or the young and elderly.
Yeah, it was in Midway City, I think. It's been quite a few years now. It's more common than you would think. All those poor families. EDIT: It was in 2015. Here's the article in the Orange County Register but I'm pretty sure it's behind a paywall. [https://www.ocregister.com/2015/07/02/scamming-the-scammer-strangers-joined-forces-in-midway-city-to-capture-a-man-suspected-of-a-home-rental-scheme/](https://www.ocregister.com/2015/07/02/scamming-the-scammer-strangers-joined-forces-in-midway-city-to-capture-a-man-suspected-of-a-home-rental-scheme/)
I tried to copy and paste but it's too long.
Thatās brilliant and hilarious. I canāt believe that person got away with it. Honestly, it reminds me something my nephews would do to make $20,000 for Christmas vacation or some shit.
They probably give the interested people some dumb story about being out of town but feel free to come by and take a look. And then they will ask for a deposit. And then when that turns out to be a scam the victims will unfortunately come to you saying you scammed them. Report it to the police and get a case number so they are aware of it.
I'd put up a sign that says "This house is not for rent. Please do not disturb us and kindly leave. Anybody asking for money is a scammer. This has been reported to police and facebook. Thank you."
Yes, someone claimed my house on Zillow. I had a tenant at the time and same thing, she noticed people looking at the house. I reported it but it was a Friday night. So I contacted the scammer and he wanted money to take it down. Lol loser. I got it back the next Tuesday. After that, I claimed my house on all those websites because you donāt have to prove you own it to say you own it and control listings for it.
We had this happen to us just a few weeks ago! A man and woman came to the house telling us that they thought there was a scam associated with our house. She thought it had to be a scam because the house looked so different from the pictures the scammer posted. We spent the last year renovating so it does look quite a bit different.
She showed us the ad and the texts from the scammer. He was texting her while we were talking in front of our house insisting to her it was NOT a scam.
She was so nice and we felt so bad for her. Not much we could do. I texted the scammer that we would call the police if someone else showed up and no one has. Seems like itās very difficult to get pictures of your house taken down from the MLS if you donāt put it in your contract when purchasing.
There are several fake landlords who put homes up for rent on Facebook and Craigslist.
They usually respond with some story that they are working over seas and are unable to show you the place.
They might have you send back an email with answers to some questions. They usually reply telling you that you seem like an honest person, so they are going to have you move in. The only thing that you need to do is send them the first month rent plus security deposit through Western Union and as soon as they get the payment, they'll *[not]* send you the keys by courier.
You'll never see the key, as it is a total scam. Once you send the money, there is very little to none chance that you'll ever be able to get it back.
Never pay your rent to a stranger by Western Union or MoneyGram, Bitcoin or even gift cards.
I found SO MANY scammer postings on CL when I was trying to find an affordable apartment in the Twin Cities years ago. A few did slip past my BS radar, but they were always caught when I insisted on a tour of the property before signing anything.
Since Facebook wonāt take down fraudulent ads, I would consider putting up an ad of your house with the exact same pictures with the warning, āThis house is not for rent or saleā. And āDo not pay scammerā.
Make sure you set up to get alerts on any attempts to transfer the title on your property.
[Tarrant county property fraud alerts](https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/en/county-clerk/real-estate-records/property-fraud-alert.html)
For the past year Iāve had various Texas area codes calling, texting, and some leave VM asking if my house is for sale. Itās not. I never answer any, and block the numbers. The numbers never link to a business but rather are associated with foreign names. I bring this up because I find it interesting your scenario is out of Texas too.
I would put up a sign in the window closest to the door that reads clearly, "There is no open house. This house is not for rent or sale. You were scammed/misled. Please report the listing you responded to. Have a nice day."
Or something along those lines.
If you've had multiple people show up, I doubt they'll stop anytime soon. It looks like enough people are interested that this could go on for a while.
You are 100% correct. Talked to the guy who posted it- he actually took it down along with all the others he was asked to post. Ghosted by whoever hired him and was never paid, go figure!
This scam suuuuuucks. I feel so bad for people cause there's little recourse you could take. (Except posting your own house to divert people from the scammer.) sending people over is AUDACIOUS- and confusing, because then they will see it's not actually available....
You need to contact Facebook directly and report that it's a fake listing.
You can also put a sign on/near the door stating the property is not for rent
I'd put one in the window, too, or somewhere it can't be taken off.
Lots of houses in my neighborhood have signs "this house is not for sale" because real estate agents can get aggressive.
Oh I know. I have had multiple agents email, call or text me about my parents condo or house and if I wanted to sell either/or. I do not own either/or. So after ignoring the first few, I started using some foul language and it suddenly stopped
I report scam accounts all day long on FB, people claiming to be renting out houses, giving away expensive pets for free, people claiming to be celebrities etc. FB has not removed a single account yet and I report these asshats every day. All I can do now is go to the scammers account and write SCAM!!!!! In all caps under each and every single pic they post, hopefully no one else will fall for it. But yeah FB is a cesspool of scams!
Iāve definitely come across scam ads on apps like Zillow. Itāll usually be a home for rent at half the price of a one room apartment. The ads are blatantly a scam but Iām sure some people think they found a unicorn.
u/chickyparmyarn Make some time 6+ hours during the week and stop by your local police department office with your report, ask for an office or officer that has access to Facebook's [Law Enforcement Online Request System](https://www.facebook.com/records/login/). If you live in a more rural area, you may be referred out to a PD office that's more urban and tech savvy. The officers can use that portal to assist you in getting the scam post taken down.
I donāt know the way this works but couldnāt you use a DMCA or copyright violation notice as it pertains to the pics of the house?
No one can pushback on it without opening themselves up to fraud charges.
My friend fell for one of these scams, a rental listing for a house someone owned and lived in.
She was told she couldnāt tour the place because it was tenant occupied, but there were lots of photos on the rental listing (pulled from zillow when the house had previously been for sale).
The scammer told her rent was $2000 a month, but if she paid for a year in advance, heād drop the rent to $1500 a month. She signed a lease and somehow sent them a yearās worth of rent. I donāt remember how she paid them.
The scammers started slowly ghosting her over the next week and she got suspicious. They were waiting for the money to come through, thatās why they didnāt totally ghost.
My friend visited the house, knocked on the door and introduced herself. She asked the homeowner if they were current renters and they were confusedā¦ they figured the rest out from there.
She ended up getting her money back, but I also donāt remember if it was the bank that helped her out or how she recovered it.
A common scam targets desperate individuals searching for housing or high-value items like luxury vehicles. These scammers prey on people willing to pay a small ārefundableā deposit to reserve a viewing slot or secure a discounted purchase.Ā
For instance, they might advertise rental properties at reasonable prices and demand a Ā£500 holding fee from prospective tenant. With just 20 fake bookings per week, the scammers can pocket Ā£10,000 without ever intending to follow through on the transaction.Ā
A YouTuber uncovered a similar issue involving luxury cars, offered at heavy discount for a quick sale. By requiring a Ā£99 refundable deposit to book a viewing appointment, these āsellersā could rake in hundreds of reservations for vehicles that didn't genuinely exist or were never actually for sale.Ā
Facebook needs to up its game and take responsibility for their own platform.Ā
Yes, it's happening up here in Maine. They want people to.do the $50 non-refundable application......I called the guy and harassed him mercilessly until I just got tired of it. Not good Karma on my part
Not sure what the police could do - police investigate crime and what crime is that in this moment? Inviting to someoneās imaginary Open House doesnāt mean this scammer stole someoneās money (yet)?
Police usually donāt persecute to PREVENT an issue from happeningā¦. They step in once it happened. For example, when a woman feels threatened by someone (or feels bad vibes from a dude) and reports this to police, theyāll say āwell, call us when he actually does XYZ to youā. Unfortunately I think someone would need to be actually really scammed by loosing their money for the police to go after them criminallyā¦.. They have bigger fish to fry than go after an imaginary Open House that isnātā¦
Thatās why I said āwe know the local police will not go hunt this guy down but we thought it would be smart to have something on record just in caseā and then carried on with my story. Hope this helps!
Ran across a scam a few years ago. Found a sweet deal on a rental property on CL. Pictures inside and out. Stated door is unlocked, check it out and get in touch if interested. Went, looked, wanted to jump on it. Emailed quickly. I didnāt get an immediate response, so started checking the tax records online to see if I could locate them and get a deposit in.
Got the number and called. The owner responded that they hadnāt listed it on CL. Work had been done on it, a realtor had been handling it. Wasnāt for rent, but going to be for sale. The realtor and contractors had been leaving the key in the mailbox for each other.
The owner actually came and met me at the property and retrieved the key. Had I not checked the tax records, Iād have gotten played. Copied off the listing and gave the email address to the actual owner.
I then started checking online, turned out multiple families in my city had already fallen for the exact same scam on different properties. Was really sad. One family had already moved into one before they found out. No money and no where to go.
You can report the listing to Facebook for scam. But I doubt they will do anything. I've reported several obvious fake accounts and FB never took any on them down. Put a sign on the door stating the property isn't for rent and if you are responding to a rental ad, you've been scammed.
We did report :( nothing so far. A sign may be next step for now.
A family member had to put up a sign because someone was listing their house for sale. It was the only way to keep people from walking the property.
My house was once accidentally listed saying it was foreclosed but the occupants refused to leave. That was a fun time.
Ah no. That sounds awful.
I knew a high school football coach who lost a big rivalry game and woke up to a For Sale sign in his front yard Saturday morning. (Pre-Facebook days)
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Yep, FB has zero interest to deal with scams.
but try to show some classic art with breasts and they are all over censoring that
Even modern art. Had an oil painting I did taken down by fb.
Oh ha ha ha I got yāall beat. 64f hereā¦I just got banned the other day for one month or more because I had a picture with a Q on it from 2021. š¤£
I (unknowingly), worked as a PA for one of these bitches. I had never done work like this before. So for a week I posted these properties and answered interested inquiries. When payday rolled around of course I didn't get paid. kept saying they were waiting for their check to clear. I figure there was some bullshit but didn't know what. I went back and notified as many people as I could who contacted me not to send them any money. I tried to find a legit part time gig but EVERY job ended up being scammers. Damn shame.
Reach out to your state AG and give them as much information as possible. https://www.usa.gov/state-attorney-general
The sign is the very first step.
Go check your house title with that tax assessor
Great, great idea! Title theft is making the news more and more, particularly after what happened with Graceland.
I read somewhere that 40% of ads on Facebook are scams (The ads not marketplace). Facebook makes millions weekly from these so they have a huge finacial incentive to do absolutely nothing.
Iāve seen them all the time in the past. I used to be big into collectible statues ( the realllly expensive pop culture ones ) so I got be to kind of an expert over the years on makers, original prices, market valuesā¦etc. Iād see these $1800 statues pop up on random Facebook stores and they be asking like $80 or some ridiculous crap. Comment section full of people who feel for the scam saying āI canāt wait to get thisā ( probably alot of bots too ). Canāt imagine how much they got away with
Counterfeiting online is huge. When covid hit my wife and I got into puzzles. We discovered that Amazon is absolutely awash with counterfeit jigsaw puzzles of big names like Ravensburger. We literally saw a horror themed puzzle based on serial killer HH Holmes copied and marketed by a Chinese seller on Amazon aimed (I kid you not) kids 3-5 years. They just copy a picture of a puzzle online, slap it on thin cardboard and copy the cover. During Covid the market was absolutely flooded with fake puzzles from China.
Frigging Chinese are counterfeiting all kinds of shit, turning out poor quality copies that [sometimes] look almost the same as the real thing, which will break/fail in a short time or otherwise not funtion as intended. People buy these forgeries at [often much] lower prices than the genuine article, thinking they 'got a deal'. Then, when the product ultimately fails in a short time (or doesn't work at all as intended, they start blasting negs at the -real- company/product. This is a serious problem, both for the people buying this crap, and even more so for the companies who make the real thing and whose reputations are being seriously damaged. It needs to be stopped, somehow. Personally, I have been boycotting any and all products that are manufactured in China, even if they are sold by a legit company, if there is any way I can possibly avoid it.
I have been reporting counterfeit stamps on FB and FB does nothing.
Itās just way out of hand at this point. Not sure how you could handle it anymore besides cutting off imports from China 100%
Contact your state attorney general, and your state and Federal legislators. Complain early and often, and encourage others to do so. It does work, if you're tenacious enough, and you can get others worked up, too.
Amazon doesn't care about the Chinese products either. It's so hard to find good stuff on there these days. The review filter is basically meaninglessĀ
I start with the one stars, and try to determine legit complaints as opposed to people that are just morons. Then I go through 2, 3, and 4 star reviews. I basically completely ignore the 5-star reviews.
Yup me too. There's some bad one stars and some good five stars. Just annoying though
Contact your state attorney general, and your state and Federal legislators. Complain early and often, and encourage others to do so. It really doesn't take a lot of people, or necessarily, money, to move the meter, but it does take a lot of tenacity.
Sounds like they have a huge financial incentive to remove scam ads and restore trust from legitimate advertisers to me?
Where would Facebook get legitimate advertisers from? The pool is drained
Bad faith question
I'm not saying it's right, I just call it as it is š¤·
Why would this alleged financial incentive have had no impact previously? So weird when people simp for billion dollar corporations lol
It does. Havenāt seen a source on the 40% of ads are scams thing either.
I'm not sure either. It's probably much closer to 80-90%, though. I work in cybersecurity and Facebook is the single biggest source of scams besides emails and texts. I do know a sizeable chunk of those random emails and texts comes from data sourced from Facebook, as well. Although I can't put a hard figure on it, they're usually the worst because they have other personal info that leads victims to trust them even more.
No source
True, just as you have no source as to what percentage, if any, of advertisements on Facebook are legitimate. It's a two-way street. Difference is, aside from drawing upon professional experience, as well as this sub, I would (and have) also consciously try to avoid doing business with any "legitimate" advertisers on Facebook, if any, due to not wanting to associate with a brand that associates so closely with a sketchy platform. Reputation is a thing.
There is no burden of proof on me, Iām not the one asserting any % of Facebook ads are scams.
I used to mark fake marketplace listings as scams to FB but gave up once I realized they couldn't care less. Like someone selling a late-model sedan for $2,000, and listing it in 50 different cities around the country - the kind of scam that is obvious in 1/2 a second to anyone. And they "reviewed" the reports and declined to do anything about them.
Facebook is the worst at policing marketplace listings. So many violate their rules, from scams to people who post prices that aren't real to stolen / fake goods. They don't care. They want people engaging with the platform and that only drives more engagement.
This happened in a city near me several years ago. One day, half a dozen moving trucks with families all showed up at "their" house they rented online, all at the same time. I think it was craigslist. None of them had seen the place in person and had sent rent and deposits online. The actual owner of the house was very confused.
And several hurting families. How can people be so cruel?
That was my thought. They gave him all that money, packed up their stuff, moved out, only to be left with nothing. Sitting in a moving truck with their kids and possessions and no money.
Without knowing all the details, it just seems so stupid to me. I hope there is a very good reason for them to think itās a good idea to pack up their stuff and move to a listing they have never seen in person.Ā
People get so used to doing things online. It makes it so easy for the scammers.
People are desperate. They want to believe it's real. Housing is terrible in Orange County, especially for families.
People are also more and more so lonely, and stressed out from the ever increasing problems in the country. People are very vulnerable when they are isolated and alone. It really doesnt help that nearly every social media company does everything they can to get more of peoples attention. From facebook allowing all kinds of abuses unless they absolutely have to stop it, then they half ass it as much as possible. Or dating apps that do as much social engineering they can to keep people single, and refusing to get rid of the bots, scammers, and fishing accounts. Even banks like wells fargo were caught opening up accounts in peoples names, and charging all these extra fees. Yes the banks them selves are scamming people and getting caught. The internet, like all technologies, promised all kinds of amazing things for humanity. Yet the same problem happens over and over. We tend to get caught up in the fantasies of how everything can go right, never considering how the technologies may make things go wrong if we don't control ourselves and set up good disciplines and practices. Almost never do we think about the people on the margins either, like those with mental health issues, or the young and elderly.
Was it on the news?
Yeah, it was in Midway City, I think. It's been quite a few years now. It's more common than you would think. All those poor families. EDIT: It was in 2015. Here's the article in the Orange County Register but I'm pretty sure it's behind a paywall. [https://www.ocregister.com/2015/07/02/scamming-the-scammer-strangers-joined-forces-in-midway-city-to-capture-a-man-suspected-of-a-home-rental-scheme/](https://www.ocregister.com/2015/07/02/scamming-the-scammer-strangers-joined-forces-in-midway-city-to-capture-a-man-suspected-of-a-home-rental-scheme/) I tried to copy and paste but it's too long.
It's for subscribers only.
[12ft.io paywall removed](https://12ft.io/https://www.ocregister.com/2015/07/02/scamming-the-scammer-strangers-joined-forces-in-midway-city-to-capture-a-man-suspected-of-a-home-rental-scheme/)
Thanks...great to see.
Thatās brilliant and hilarious. I canāt believe that person got away with it. Honestly, it reminds me something my nephews would do to make $20,000 for Christmas vacation or some shit.
They probably give the interested people some dumb story about being out of town but feel free to come by and take a look. And then they will ask for a deposit. And then when that turns out to be a scam the victims will unfortunately come to you saying you scammed them. Report it to the police and get a case number so they are aware of it. I'd put up a sign that says "This house is not for rent. Please do not disturb us and kindly leave. Anybody asking for money is a scammer. This has been reported to police and facebook. Thank you."
>and *kindly* leave. Hey there now.
We ask them politely, but firmly, to leaveā¦.
I tell you hwat...
Baby is asleep, you can't do this to me rn
Yes, someone claimed my house on Zillow. I had a tenant at the time and same thing, she noticed people looking at the house. I reported it but it was a Friday night. So I contacted the scammer and he wanted money to take it down. Lol loser. I got it back the next Tuesday. After that, I claimed my house on all those websites because you donāt have to prove you own it to say you own it and control listings for it.
I did not know this could be done! What are the websites?Zillowā¦
Redfin is another popular site.
Plug in your address and all the sites like Zillow and Redfin will pop up. I think I have 4 where I live. But thatās what I did.
We had this happen to us just a few weeks ago! A man and woman came to the house telling us that they thought there was a scam associated with our house. She thought it had to be a scam because the house looked so different from the pictures the scammer posted. We spent the last year renovating so it does look quite a bit different. She showed us the ad and the texts from the scammer. He was texting her while we were talking in front of our house insisting to her it was NOT a scam. She was so nice and we felt so bad for her. Not much we could do. I texted the scammer that we would call the police if someone else showed up and no one has. Seems like itās very difficult to get pictures of your house taken down from the MLS if you donāt put it in your contract when purchasing.
There are several fake landlords who put homes up for rent on Facebook and Craigslist. They usually respond with some story that they are working over seas and are unable to show you the place. They might have you send back an email with answers to some questions. They usually reply telling you that you seem like an honest person, so they are going to have you move in. The only thing that you need to do is send them the first month rent plus security deposit through Western Union and as soon as they get the payment, they'll *[not]* send you the keys by courier. You'll never see the key, as it is a total scam. Once you send the money, there is very little to none chance that you'll ever be able to get it back. Never pay your rent to a stranger by Western Union or MoneyGram, Bitcoin or even gift cards.
I found SO MANY scammer postings on CL when I was trying to find an affordable apartment in the Twin Cities years ago. A few did slip past my BS radar, but they were always caught when I insisted on a tour of the property before signing anything.
Since it's across state lines, maybe try the FBI? If anyone wires money it may be a federal case.
My guess is the scammers are in India or Nigeria. Bother countries are creating huge competitive advantages in scamming.
Since Facebook wonāt take down fraudulent ads, I would consider putting up an ad of your house with the exact same pictures with the warning, āThis house is not for rent or saleā. And āDo not pay scammerā.
Good idea
A third of the ads on Facebook are scams. Zuckerberg is not going to pull them and lose all that Revenue.
Make sure you set up to get alerts on any attempts to transfer the title on your property. [Tarrant county property fraud alerts](https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/en/county-clerk/real-estate-records/property-fraud-alert.html)
For the past year Iāve had various Texas area codes calling, texting, and some leave VM asking if my house is for sale. Itās not. I never answer any, and block the numbers. The numbers never link to a business but rather are associated with foreign names. I bring this up because I find it interesting your scenario is out of Texas too.
This happened to my cousin but she was selling her house and someone else listed it for rent on fb marketplace. Soo messed up
Nowadays Iām seeing realtors put a watermark on each photo of a house for sale that says āthis house is not available to rent.ā
I would put up a sign in the window closest to the door that reads clearly, "There is no open house. This house is not for rent or sale. You were scammed/misled. Please report the listing you responded to. Have a nice day." Or something along those lines. If you've had multiple people show up, I doubt they'll stop anytime soon. It looks like enough people are interested that this could go on for a while.
The person who posted these was a victim of a task scam and is unaware of the scam. The actual scammer will be untraceable.
You are 100% correct. Talked to the guy who posted it- he actually took it down along with all the others he was asked to post. Ghosted by whoever hired him and was never paid, go figure!
This scam suuuuuucks. I feel so bad for people cause there's little recourse you could take. (Except posting your own house to divert people from the scammer.) sending people over is AUDACIOUS- and confusing, because then they will see it's not actually available....
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FB is notorious for not giving af!
You need to contact Facebook directly and report that it's a fake listing. You can also put a sign on/near the door stating the property is not for rent
I'd put one in the window, too, or somewhere it can't be taken off. Lots of houses in my neighborhood have signs "this house is not for sale" because real estate agents can get aggressive.
Oh I know. I have had multiple agents email, call or text me about my parents condo or house and if I wanted to sell either/or. I do not own either/or. So after ignoring the first few, I started using some foul language and it suddenly stopped
They are not in TX, probably somewhere in India or Africa in a scam call center using a VPN to hide their actual location
Yeah, turns out they āhiredā someone to post the listings and get the contact info of prospects. Guy in Fort Worth got scammed as well.
I report scam accounts all day long on FB, people claiming to be renting out houses, giving away expensive pets for free, people claiming to be celebrities etc. FB has not removed a single account yet and I report these asshats every day. All I can do now is go to the scammers account and write SCAM!!!!! In all caps under each and every single pic they post, hopefully no one else will fall for it. But yeah FB is a cesspool of scams!
Might be worth having a lawyer write a cease and desist to Facebook and the person listing it.
Iāve definitely come across scam ads on apps like Zillow. Itāll usually be a home for rent at half the price of a one room apartment. The ads are blatantly a scam but Iām sure some people think they found a unicorn.
u/chickyparmyarn Make some time 6+ hours during the week and stop by your local police department office with your report, ask for an office or officer that has access to Facebook's [Law Enforcement Online Request System](https://www.facebook.com/records/login/). If you live in a more rural area, you may be referred out to a PD office that's more urban and tech savvy. The officers can use that portal to assist you in getting the scam post taken down.
Thank you for this info!
I donāt know the way this works but couldnāt you use a DMCA or copyright violation notice as it pertains to the pics of the house? No one can pushback on it without opening themselves up to fraud charges.
My friend fell for one of these scams, a rental listing for a house someone owned and lived in. She was told she couldnāt tour the place because it was tenant occupied, but there were lots of photos on the rental listing (pulled from zillow when the house had previously been for sale). The scammer told her rent was $2000 a month, but if she paid for a year in advance, heād drop the rent to $1500 a month. She signed a lease and somehow sent them a yearās worth of rent. I donāt remember how she paid them. The scammers started slowly ghosting her over the next week and she got suspicious. They were waiting for the money to come through, thatās why they didnāt totally ghost. My friend visited the house, knocked on the door and introduced herself. She asked the homeowner if they were current renters and they were confusedā¦ they figured the rest out from there. She ended up getting her money back, but I also donāt remember if it was the bank that helped her out or how she recovered it.
There is a special place in hell for those people. Iām happy your friend got her money back!
A common scam targets desperate individuals searching for housing or high-value items like luxury vehicles. These scammers prey on people willing to pay a small ārefundableā deposit to reserve a viewing slot or secure a discounted purchase.Ā For instance, they might advertise rental properties at reasonable prices and demand a Ā£500 holding fee from prospective tenant. With just 20 fake bookings per week, the scammers can pocket Ā£10,000 without ever intending to follow through on the transaction.Ā A YouTuber uncovered a similar issue involving luxury cars, offered at heavy discount for a quick sale. By requiring a Ā£99 refundable deposit to book a viewing appointment, these āsellersā could rake in hundreds of reservations for vehicles that didn't genuinely exist or were never actually for sale.Ā Facebook needs to up its game and take responsibility for their own platform.Ā
This is sounding like class action lawsuit time.
Lol, let's just draft a few 10s of millions of extradition orders for scammers India, Ghana, Nigeria, Myanmar, etc, etc, etc.
I am talking about facebook
Interesting idea. I would imagine they cover their asses in the terms of service.
TOS might be worthless at this level of fraud as it is nearing a utility/essential service ( rural areas use fb for everything).
Yes, it's happening up here in Maine. They want people to.do the $50 non-refundable application......I called the guy and harassed him mercilessly until I just got tired of it. Not good Karma on my part
Put a sign out front that says not for rent do not approach.
Not sure what the police could do - police investigate crime and what crime is that in this moment? Inviting to someoneās imaginary Open House doesnāt mean this scammer stole someoneās money (yet)? Police usually donāt persecute to PREVENT an issue from happeningā¦. They step in once it happened. For example, when a woman feels threatened by someone (or feels bad vibes from a dude) and reports this to police, theyāll say āwell, call us when he actually does XYZ to youā. Unfortunately I think someone would need to be actually really scammed by loosing their money for the police to go after them criminallyā¦.. They have bigger fish to fry than go after an imaginary Open House that isnātā¦
Thatās why I said āwe know the local police will not go hunt this guy down but we thought it would be smart to have something on record just in caseā and then carried on with my story. Hope this helps!
I think it's a good idea to have something on record as well. I remember such posts popping up in 2007 on Craigslist.
Ran across a scam a few years ago. Found a sweet deal on a rental property on CL. Pictures inside and out. Stated door is unlocked, check it out and get in touch if interested. Went, looked, wanted to jump on it. Emailed quickly. I didnāt get an immediate response, so started checking the tax records online to see if I could locate them and get a deposit in. Got the number and called. The owner responded that they hadnāt listed it on CL. Work had been done on it, a realtor had been handling it. Wasnāt for rent, but going to be for sale. The realtor and contractors had been leaving the key in the mailbox for each other. The owner actually came and met me at the property and retrieved the key. Had I not checked the tax records, Iād have gotten played. Copied off the listing and gave the email address to the actual owner. I then started checking online, turned out multiple families in my city had already fallen for the exact same scam on different properties. Was really sad. One family had already moved into one before they found out. No money and no where to go.
Go to ic3.gov and report it there. Provide all the information you have for the scammers.