In my college days, I learned a lot of life lessons. One of them was how to not get scammed on Craigslist.
Years ago, it felt time to switch apartments to find a better accommodation. Naturally, the first place I turned to was Craigslist. After all, the last apartment I successfully found was through Craigslist, so I found no reason to question the source.
I came across an ad that seemed too good to be true (and it was). It was a one bedroom apartment with a bunch of included amenities for $880 per month in Honolulu. The apartment I was living in was $1500 per month, so this ad was a dream come true. I sent an e-mail to learn more about the property, which began a series of questionable e-mails.
The Lavonda Robbins story.
Her name was Lavonda Robbins, and she said she couldn’t show me the apartment. She kindly introduced herself in the first e-mail and explained herself:
“My husband and I own the apartment, but he is late right now, we both had an accident few months ago, I’m currently disabled and I’m currently on a wheelchair. I had to relocate back to our other house in Maryland USA. That was why the apartment is vacant for $880 per month. Moreover, are you very clean, kind and easygoing? because I spent a lot on my apartment, so I want someone who can take care of the apartment. Kindly let me know as soon as possible because I want someone who is reliable to occupy it.”
This story, at the time, seemed probable. The landlord I had at the time was from California, so having an out-of-state landlord wasn’t a foreign idea to me.
The additional story about her and her husband’s accident seemed odd to include, but didn’t raise any immediate red flags. I later found out that emotional motivational appeals was one of the manipulative tactics she used persuade.
“I will send keys.”
She told me the apartment features, which sounded great. I had to apply right away if I was to be considered for the unit.
In the same e-mail, she explained the next steps to continue the application process. “I want you to remember that I’m in Maryland, USA and the keys and documents are with here I will send it to you via UPS and you will receive it within 48hrs. I will send keys and documents to your present home,” she wrote.
I responded to her that I was still interested in the apartment. I wasn’t going to just send money anywhere, so I decided to prod a little with few more e-mails. One particular e-mail response exposed her of being a scammer.
My lesson (so far).
Some people will do anything to get money. Many people are goodhearted, but not everyone is. There are many scammers out there to sucker people into giving them money. That’s why, as a rental professional, it’s extremely important to assert yourself as a legitimate professional in the industry. Use a good business card or rental website as tools to assert yourself as a rental professional. Don’t seem questionable to renters, or else you will be quickly dropped, losing yourself a potential renter.
In part II, learn how Lavonda’s following e-mails exposed her as a scam artist.
Read “Part II: How I (Almost) Got Scammed on Craigslist.”
