<div class="article-entry"><p>People scrambling to find apartments and rental houses often pay for rental listings. Sadly, some of them find that the lists they buy are worthless. One man paid more than $200 for a list of homes to rent, and when he visited three of the addresses, he discovered they were occupied. Applying for a refund was equally frustrating. The agency said the agreement he signed allowed them to take up to 90 days to issue a refund. Three months later, their phone was disconnected and the company disappeared with his money.</p><p>Another common scam is to require people who respond to a phony rental ad to pay for a credit report. The con artists collect a commission or simply keep the fee. Sometimes, tenants are asked to do a money transfer for the first month’s rent. Researchers who studied suspicious real estate ads found that the companies were, in fact, scammers based in Nigeria. Renters, beware!</p></div>

Savvy Consumer Tip: Rental Scammers Are Taking Advantage of a Tight Housing Market | Diamond Certified

Chris Bjorklund

<p>People scrambling to find apartments and rental houses often pay for rental listings. Sadly, some of them find that the lists they buy are worthless. One man paid more than $200 for a list of homes to rent, and when he visited three of the addresses, he discovered they were occupied. Applying for a refund was equally frustrating. The agency said the agreement he signed allowed them to take up to 90 days to issue a refund. Three months later, their phone was disconnected and the company disappeared with his money.</p>
<p>Another common scam is to require people who respond to a phony rental ad to pay for a credit report. The con artists collect a commission or simply keep the fee. Sometimes, tenants are asked to do a money transfer for the first month’s rent. Researchers who studied suspicious real estate ads found that the companies were, in fact, scammers based in Nigeria. Renters, beware!</p>


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Savvy Consumer Tip: Rental Scammers Are Taking Advantage of a Tight Housing Market

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People scrambling to find apartments and rental houses often pay for rental listings. Sadly, some of them find that the lists they buy are worthless. One man paid more than $200 for a list of homes to rent, and when he visited three of the addresses, he discovered they were occupied. Applying for a refund was equally frustrating. The agency said the agreement he signed allowed them to take up to 90 days to issue a refund. Three months later, their phone was disconnected and the company disappear

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