You got to be on the watch for scams if you use Craigslist. Lots of them out there. As a Realtor, I get to see more than my fair share. But if you are advertising a local or vacation rental then you must be ready. Usually, you will get a email from an interested person from overseas who is looking to rent right away. The will try to send you a check for more than the amount you need and get you to wire money back to them for the difference. Well, the check is going to bounce at your local bank and you are going to come up with nothing. Be very wary if you get an out of town inquiry. I got one note from a Rose Howard which seems to be a very popular name with scammers. I looked up her name and address and there actually is a Rose Howard who lives in Michigan. How she got to be the poster child for scam artists I do not know, but a google search on "Rose Howard and scams" brought up a whole list of them.
Another favorite scam is for the scammers to take a rental listing that is in the local MLS and put it up on Craigslist (using the Realtor's own photos and descriptions) for about 2/3 rds of the market price. They will then agree to meet the mark at the property but come up with an excuse as to why they are unable to gain access to the home (lost key, seller out of town). Then they will try to get any upfront deposit from the victim to hold the property. I am amazed at the number of people who fall for this.
So beware. If it sound too good to be true then the chances are that it is not true but a scam.
