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Realtor warning rent seekers about Craigslist housing scheme

PITTSBURGH — A local real estate agent is warning people in the area searching for rental properties about a growing scheme on Craigslist.

"Right now, we have listings from $65,000 on up to $1.1 million,” said Matthew McKenna, of the Matthew McKenna Group.

McKenna said the real estate group posts most of their listings online, including Craigslist, but when he started getting calls from people who wanted more information about renting some of the homes that were only for sale, he knew something wasn’t right.

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"They're recreating the ads, and instead of posting them for sale, they're posting them for rent,” he said. “And then they're asking people to give them deposits and first and last month's rent, etc., for properties that just aren't for rent.”

McKenna said people who reply to the fraudulent listings are often told they have to send money first before they can see the home in-person, or that the landlord or property owner is out-of-state or out of the country and can’t meet face-to-face.

McKenna said he receives at least one or two calls a week about fake postings and flags them but isn’t able to do much else to prevent the listings from being published again. He also said he’s heard from agents across the country who are running in to the same issue.

Craigslist offers the following advice to avoid scams:

  • Do not extend payment to anyone you have not met in person
  • Never wire funds
  • Never give out financial info
  • Do not rent or purchase sight without seeing it in-person first
  • Refuse background and credit checks

McKenna offered one additional piece of advice.

"In the future, check the county website or call the realtor who has the home listed, and you can see that the owner's name and the person who's telling you they're the owner don't match up,” McKenna said.

WPXI

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