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

<img src="https://dcr-apis.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wp_contents/uploads/DCR-ADMIN/Article_Webp/For-rent-sign-wikimedia-commons.webp" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/> 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. 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! <a href="https://www.diamondcertified.org/" target="_self">Use Diamond Certified Resource to find top rated companies.</a> Related Articles <a href="https://www.diamondcertified.org/Guide/Savvy-Consumer/" target="_self">Your Guide to Being a Savvy Consumer</a> <a href="https://www.diamondcertified.org/find-expert-advice/" target="_self">Get Expert Advice From Owners of Top</a> <a href="https://www.diamondcertified.org/find-expert-advice/" target="_self">Rated Local Companies</a> <a href="https://www.diamondcertified.org/membership/" target="_self">Become a Diamond Certified Preferred Member (Always Free)</a> <a href="https://www.diamondcertified.org/find-top-rated-companies/hub/ca/san-francisco-bay-area/" target="_self">Find Top Rated Companies in the San Francisco Bay Area</a>