Local Family Almost Duped by Craigslist Scam
A Chattanooga home for rent is caught in the middle of a Nigerian fraud scam. The woman who was almost a victim wants others to learn from her mistake.
Stacey Vaughn, decided to help her daughter and newborn granddaughter find a new home. Vaughn started looking for homes to rent on Craigslist, and found an ad for a home in Chattanooga. The rent was $625 a month.
"I was kind of frustrated, I'd just been kind of disgusted by all the things that are out there that you can't really rent decently for $625. So this was like a blessing," Vaughn said.
She chose the cheapest offer, and hit reply. The response seemed normal at first. The ad poster said he owned the home, but was in Africa doing mission work. He even explained why there were several ads for the same property.
"He said that because he went through a real estate company, a couple of them, that they had tried to charge him commission," said Vaughn.
Vaughn kept in contact and answered a questionnaire, but a few things didn't sit right with her, like some of the language and other details about the deal.
"The utilities are included," said Vaughn. "That's when my sister had a big red flag. I myself being so frustrated thought this can't be happening."
But it was. Vaughn confirmed the scam when she looked up the ad poster's phone number.
"I googled the phone number prefix and that's when it came back as a scam phone number from Nigeria."
The scammer might be a fake, but the ad itself is not. The property on Ridgevale Ave. is up for rent through Rock Point Real Estate. Property Manager Philip Lancaster says this type of scheme is common, although it's never happened to them before. The scammer copied the information from the real ad and created his own. The ad poster asked applicants for a wire transfer which Lancaster says is a red flag.
"The most important rule is to make contact locally with a human being that you see face to face," Lancaster said.
That's a lesson Vaughn learned, luckily, before she sent any money.
"I may have sent that money," she said. "I would like to think I wouldn't, but he got me good. It was very devastating."
The real and fake ads are now off Craigslist. Rock Point Real Estate says they expect a tenant to sign a lease in the next few days.
Vaughn says they've stopped looking for a new place for her daughter at the moment. If they do look again, she won't use Craigslist.
Stacey Vaughn, decided to help her daughter and newborn granddaughter find a new home. Vaughn started looking for homes to rent on Craigslist, and found an ad for a home in Chattanooga. The rent was $625 a month.
"I was kind of frustrated, I'd just been kind of disgusted by all the things that are out there that you can't really rent decently for $625. So this was like a blessing," Vaughn said.
She chose the cheapest offer, and hit reply. The response seemed normal at first. The ad poster said he owned the home, but was in Africa doing mission work. He even explained why there were several ads for the same property.
"He said that because he went through a real estate company, a couple of them, that they had tried to charge him commission," said Vaughn.
Vaughn kept in contact and answered a questionnaire, but a few things didn't sit right with her, like some of the language and other details about the deal.
"The utilities are included," said Vaughn. "That's when my sister had a big red flag. I myself being so frustrated thought this can't be happening."
But it was. Vaughn confirmed the scam when she looked up the ad poster's phone number.
"I googled the phone number prefix and that's when it came back as a scam phone number from Nigeria."
The scammer might be a fake, but the ad itself is not. The property on Ridgevale Ave. is up for rent through Rock Point Real Estate. Property Manager Philip Lancaster says this type of scheme is common, although it's never happened to them before. The scammer copied the information from the real ad and created his own. The ad poster asked applicants for a wire transfer which Lancaster says is a red flag.
"The most important rule is to make contact locally with a human being that you see face to face," Lancaster said.
That's a lesson Vaughn learned, luckily, before she sent any money.
"I may have sent that money," she said. "I would like to think I wouldn't, but he got me good. It was very devastating."
The real and fake ads are now off Craigslist. Rock Point Real Estate says they expect a tenant to sign a lease in the next few days.
Vaughn says they've stopped looking for a new place for her daughter at the moment. If they do look again, she won't use Craigslist.
