"Help, I Fell For The Apartment Rental Credit Check Scam!"
Since posting an article about Craiglist apartment listing scams a month ago, we've heard from lots of people who fell for the scam. If you're one of them, here's what you need to know.
- Cancel your account with the credit report site immediately. They won't let you do this online, so you'll have to call an 800 number to cancel. They'll try to talk you out of canceling. Stand firm.
- Watch your credit card statements carefully. Some of the "free credit report" services are owned by companies notorious for slipping unauthorized charges onto your bill. Watch your statements, and pounce on those bogus charges like a kitten on a dust bunny. Dispute them, or file a chargeback if necessary.
- Your personal data is probably safe, but just in case, keep an eye on your credit report. Use AnnualCreditReport.com. I like to order a report from a different credit bureau every four months, so it remains free, but I have a broad sense of what's getting reported over time. The scammers aren't out to steal your identity. They're out to collect affiliate fees for selling you a not-so-free credit report.
- Remember, you're not stupid. Credit checks are a common part of the rental process, so don't feel stupid for not being suspicious at first.
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(Photo: brendancox)
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I almost wouldn't mind living in the house in the OP image. It reminds me of the building in the Coraline film.
@Laura Northrup: If it didn't look like it barely survived a fire, and if it didn't creep me the hell out, I'd totally consider it, too.
but did you really expect to get that 2,000 square foot, fully furnished home with an in ground heated pool for $650 a month ?
@thisheregirafFe: Well, maybe not $650/month, but I've seen some dirt-cheap, brand-new homes here in Arizona, usually far from Phoenix, but still. Seriously -- one of my bosses pays $1100/month for a two story, 5 bed/2.5 bath house with a big back yard and a pool.
You should file a claim with the credit reporting bureaus. Let them know your credit may have been defrauded/compromised/etc.
@thisheregirafFe: Not in Manhattan, but like @nakedscience: said, there are areas in which $1100 can net you a really, really nice place.
This seams similar to what my girlfriend is going through.
She applied for a job on Criagslist a few months back.
The "Company" replied to her email stating that she needed to fill out an application and SIGN UP FOR A CREDIT CHECK SERVICE.
They mentioned that there would only be a fee of $1 for the credit check.
She knows that employeers check your credit, similar to the leasing agency checking your credit. So she went ahead with it. It only charged her $1 dollar, but she did not hear from the company reguarding the job.
The next month, she had a menagerie of charges equaling $20+ a month. Each charge was to different departments and she had to call EACH DIFFERENT dept to cancel the service and ask for a refund.
One of the depts only charge her $1 and the CSR for that dept made her feel stupid and petty for asking for her $1 to be charged back to her account.
This is an FYI, so be aware of this as well.
@pecan 3.14159265: And honestly, in this economy, if I saw the same house for $800, I wouldn't be all that surprised.
@Daniel Parmelee: You can only dispute items that show up on your credit report. They can't just watch out for possible fraud.
I saw alot of these on craigslist here in Vegas. Some pointers to avoid a simillar fate:
1)cross ref. listings with realtor.com
2)search for the address listed with other listing services to see if there's any discrepencies. Wrong bedroom count, change in rent, etc.
3)enter the address into your local assesor's website if available (it is here in Vegas) to get an idea of actual room count and what the current owners paid for the home. If they're well underwater chances of a scam listing or them defaulting after you're moved in are high.
Are they asking for a credit check before or after you see the apt?
I personally would never give anyone my details before seeing the apt.
@Ayo: The only types of jobs that do credit checks are those that require you to deal directly with really high dollar items with little supervision, or jobs that could potentially put a company out of business if IP is leaked.
MOST jobs DO NOT require a credit check...
@Pixelantes Anonymous: Before.
I have some friends that make their living getting people to sign up for various things online, credit check programs being one of them, and this is one of the most profitble, and most shady ways of getting sign ups.
@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter: also note that many times, the credit check companies DO NOT condone this tactic, and I have seen guys lose thousands of dollars becasue the company that was sponsoring the sign up killed their affiliate account for scams like this, even if some of the sign ups were legitamate.
@secret_curse: You can put an initial (90-day) fraud alert on your credit reports to stop creditors from pulling your reports in connection with anyone applying for credit in your name without calling you first. You can also place a security freeze on your reports to stop anyone from pulling your reports at all, until you take it off.
@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter: Can you please provide the names, addresses, and SSNs of these "friends"?
I've never had a single apartment landlord do a credit check on me. Most were small landlords. One was a big one and that was 12 years ago so things might have changed with them since then. I always put down deposits.
@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter: It's their own damned fault for having an affiliate program to begin with, and letting anyone have an affiliate account.
@OMG! It's King Psyz: Sometimes it's as simple as checking other similar listings on Craigslist. I saw a GREAT (aka too good to be true) apartment on CL for something like $600 a month including everything. What I found strange though was that the address was actually listed and there were photos, when usually the scam listings are very vague and have obviously fake photos.
Still suspicious, I checked for similar listings...same wording, same building, etc. There were dozens of listings, many using the same photos for different units of different descriptions, listing different contact addresses, etc.
@Pixelantes Anonymous: They always say something along the lines of "I've been burned by a few bad renters, so before I show you the apartment, I want to make sure your credit is good, so go to fakefreecreditreportscam.com and get your credit score for me." etc. etc.
What a gorgeous building! I'd be all over that with my camera if I knew where it was. Which reminds me, I should probably get my shots updated since I really don't need tetanus in my life but I do love abandoned buildings.
also, if they try to bill you for the rest of the month that you are currently in (especially if it is early in the month), tell them that you want it canceled as of TODAY and that you will be happy to pay the pro-rated amount for the month, but since you are cancelling today, you are not willing to pay for the rest of the month. i did this with freecreditreport.com after i fell for the free thing and they just ended up crediting me for the current month. it can't hurt to ask, right?
Wow, I'd actually never heard of a scam like this before. I just recently went looking for a new rental house had came across one where the landlady wanted me to do a self-credit check before hand. I thought it was strange, she specificly said not to go to annualcreditreport.com because people had been submitting fake versions of of these reports.
I also noticed that the name on her email and the name that she used in her salutation were different from each other.
Her unique reason for not giving out the address of the home was because people had vandalized a home that she had posted on Craigslist in the past. She made sure tell me to have a "Blessed Day" several times. I am sure this is because obviously she was best friends with Jesus and not a crook.
So Glad I didn't go through with it!!
..then spend all the money you saved on credit reports to hire a hitman to kill the scammers!