How do I find out if this craigslist-posted vacation rental is a scam?

November 18, 2014 12:39 PM

We are trying to reserve a vacation rental in Key West FL that has set off some red flags as to its legitimacy. What question can we ask the contact person to help figure out if this is a legitimate rental or a scam?

We found a very affordable vacation rental in Key West via craigslist and I don't know how to tell if this is a legitimate rental or a scam. We've been asked to wire money via WesternUnion or MoneyGram to a person in Colorado. The contact number for the property's representative is an Ohio area code. The property listing on the What could we ask this person on the phone to get some insight into whether a) having our money is going to vanish and b) we show up in Key West and find out we have no place to stay?

I asked this question last month about finding a Florida Keys vacation rental during the holidays. It has been extremely difficult, so much so that we've been putting Plan B (staying on the mainland) into place.

However, a few days ago I found this craigslist listing and emailed the lister. They responded asking to respond with a real email address, which we did, and they did in turn (well, "real" as in more than an anonymized craigslist address).

The property is available for the dates we want at $100/night. This is very under market for this area at this time. The rep. for this house/scam wants us to send money via Western Union or Moneygram to a woman in Colorado. We asked for the rep's number, and she provided it, a cell phone in Newark, OH. The Monroe County Florida website lists the property as being owned by a couple in Virginia.

Obviously this reads like a laundry list of red flags, but I think there is a reasonable if not more likely possibility this is just a not very sophisticated rental service being done by out-of-state people. What could we ask this person on the phone to help us fully identify if this thing is legitimate or a scam?

posted by mcstayinskool to Travel & Transportation around Key West, FL (14 answers total)

>The rep. for this house/scam wants us to send money via Western Union or Moneygram to a woman in Colorado.

SCAM SCAM SCAM DO NOT PROCEED
posted by BurntHombre at 12:42 PM on November 18, 2014 [14 favorites]

Best answer: Sounds like a scam. There's another (perhaps more legitimate) listing here, with a higher rate. I have no relation to the property or the other site, so proceed on your own advisement.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 12:44 PM on November 18, 2014

Best answer: From Craigslist's Avoiding Scams:

Never wire funds (e.g. Western Union) - anyone who asks you to is a scammer.

posted by daveliepmann at 12:45 PM on November 18, 2014 [9 favorites]

Best answer: We rent quite a few vacation properties. Never has a legitimate property asked us to wire money.

This property is apparently managed by Key West Vacation Rentals. They have a 1-800 number that you can call. Please try this number first before sending money.

The craigslist posting is almost certainly a scam.
posted by muddgirl at 12:47 PM on November 18, 2014 [4 favorites]

Best answer: You can book that cabin here (probably for more than $100/night though).
posted by halogen at 12:47 PM on November 18, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: It is not a reasonable possibility that an unsophisticated property owner is accidentally copying every single thing scammers do. Everything about this ("very under market", "send money via Western Union", covering four separate states) is a huge red flag; all of them together is a red billboard.
posted by jeather at 12:47 PM on November 18, 2014 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Nope! No Western Union or wiring money. I usually do a reverse image search on Google to find stolen photos to uncover scams. I did one on the photos from the CL ad and it took me to the realtor who seems like the legit renter of this property.
posted by quince at 12:48 PM on November 18, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Nope, no flipping way. In Key West, right off of Duval Street for $100 per night at ANY time of year. Nope.

Save your money.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:53 PM on November 18, 2014 [2 favorites]

It looks like they've stolen the photos and description from other property-listing sites.
posted by jaguar at 12:54 PM on November 18, 2014

Response by poster: Thank you all, for your ration of sanity. I'm just going to threadjump my own thread, how can I best report this to whomever might care that it's happening?
posted by mcstayinskool at 12:55 PM on November 18, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I flagged it on craigslist and emailed the scam to the actual realtors. You could probably do the same.
posted by jeather at 12:56 PM on November 18, 2014 [6 favorites]

Echoing the call of "scam" here. Report them to craigslist, but you likely can't do a lot more than that.

Also, as an aside, try VRBO and AirBnB again if you haven't tried them recently; sometimes new dates will open up as dates approach.
posted by craven_morhead at 12:57 PM on November 18, 2014

You can offer to pay by Credit Card and say that's the only way you are doing the transaction, take it or leave it.
posted by WizKid at 1:23 PM on November 18, 2014

The thing is, WizKid, the scammers don't actually own the rental property. Any exchange of money will go straight to them and OP will still not be able to stay in the rental.

I agree with using VRBO, AirBnB or a property management company.
posted by dawkins_7 at 5:20 PM on November 18, 2014 [1 favorite]