Avoid Being Victim Of Rental Scam

Recently, people have fallen victim to vacation rental scam artists in Palm Springs.

Crooks are listing vacations homes on Craig’s List and other internet sources falsely marketing the homes for rent. The scam artists show photographs of homes they claim are for rent and often receive down payments from unsuspecting victims. The victims are asked to wire money and when the victims arrive to what they think is their vacation home, they find that the home is not a rental or not listed with the scam artist.

Other scams involve overbooking a vacation property, book the property without notifying the homeowner, or failing to make payments to the owner after the property has been rented.

A few tips to keep in mind when you are booking a vacation rental or renting your home are:

1. Be sure of who you are working with and verify that an agent is with an established company. 2. Use only reputable companies to list your property. 3. Recommend your clients pay with a credit card and avoid money transfers when possible. 4. Do your due diligence. Look up the property online or Google the postal address. 5. Property owners check your property frequently to ensure that no one is staying at your property without you knowledge or permission.

We hope you find these tips helpful and it helps put scam artists out of business.