BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
Scam artists have found a way to target the Baton Rouge real estate market. They're using popular websites like Craigslist and HotPads to reach renters. One homeowner found out his listing was hot, only when a potential victim showed up at his front door.
Tom Waller had somewhat of a strange experience Thursday night. "About 6 p.m. we were having dinner and our doorbell rang and it was people wanting to know if Nicole was here," said Waller. "That's our daughter who has never lived in this house."
Waller says the people at the door showed them a letter that lists the house as a rental property for $800 per month, after paying a $600 deposit. The potential renters told the Waller's they got the letter in response to a message they sent to the email address listed for the house on Craigslist. The letter included the following explanation: "I have decided to rent it out due to our transfer to West Africa for missionary work."
"We let them in, let them know they were definitely being scammed," said Waller.
It is clear the Waller's home is for sale. There is a sign out front, and even brochures.
"I had it happen to me twice," said Linda Gaspard, President of the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors.
Gaspard says she noticed similar letters attached to her listings six months ago.
"Unfortunately there's not a lot we can do. When they get on the internet and scrape it and put the information out," said Gaspard. "There's nothing we can do to prevent it from happening. We contact the internet company and get it taken down."
Gaspard says she had to threaten to call the Sheriff's Office before the fake ads vanished from cyberspace. Gaspard says the scam is relatively new to the real estate market. Fortunately, the red flags are easy to spot. She says the bad grammar and pricing are dead giveaways.
"If you see something half price or less of what you know it should be, steer clear of it," said Gaspard.
Gaspard says it is important to remember to never give out any personal information over the internet, and that most rental property owners will never ask you to wire a deposit.
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