I received several calls today regarding properties I have listed.

Unfortunately, all of them were regarding renting them. And they all found the ads on Craigslist.

We go through this cycle from time to time; be careful when responding to ads for real estate on Craigslist.  In the case of the calls today, all of them went and looked up the properties online, found links to the websites and ads we’d created for the homes, and then contacted me directly to see what was up. In rare cases Visit Blue Mountain chalet rentals and other places are legit listings, like Buckingham Luxury Vacation Rentals do exist and benefit users greatly for finding vacation homes, etc..

Jim Duncan has written extensively on this.  Sarah Stelmok has an interesting email trail of her conversation with one of the scammers (Part One and Part Two).

People fall prey to this all the time, and there really isn’t anything Craigslist can do.  If you have a concern about a property, search your local MLS to see if the property is for sale, contact the Realtor listing agent (or email me and I’ll look it up for you), and do your due diligence.

Thanks to those who contacted me today – I’m glad you didn’t get caught.

Updated 5/22/12 – Here’s a long  – and at times, funny – post by my friend Jay Thompson called “Anatomy of A Rental Scam”