News - Security Issues

Cash For Keys Scam

Kimberly Miller, in an article for The Palm Beach Post, explains that scammers are taking advantage of the current housing market to prey on the unsuspecting public. Most often con artists use Craigslist to falsely advertise rental properties at steeply reduced rates.  Miller reports, “One variant of the scam uses photos of real homes for rent, but at steeply reduced prices. The contact information may include the true home owner's name or other legitimate information to camouflage the fraud from even savvy searchers.”

The Secure Florida team recommends using caution when dealing with out of town sellers or potential landlords. Remember, when it comes to dealing over the Internet; you never really know who the other person is. It is increasingly easy to find details about property ownership online by using local tax collector sites. A fraudster can easily discover who owns of a piece of property then easily create a fake email address using that person’s name.

If you are offered a rental contract requesting personal information such as your social security number and other information you will likely comply. In fact, it is common for property owners to run background checks on potential tenants, as such the amount of personal information you could give away could prove quite harmful.  As always, be careful when doing business on Craigslist and other online listing and auction sites. Craigslist has a helpful fraud information page that you may find useful when doing business on the site.

For more information see Kimberly Miller’s article at http://www.palmbeachpost.com.