Matthew Scothorn, 48, is rehabbing the home the place he and his husband dwell in Lincoln Square, they usually wanted a spot to remain quickly throughout development.
So Scothorn turned to the ample on-line listings on Craigslist of Chicago condominium sublets being supplied.
And he discovered what appeared like the proper place: a furnished, 450-square-feet studio condominium with off-site parking proper within the Loop. The hire: $1,400 a month.
The advert — positioned by somebody named “Gudelia Rivera” — didn’t ask for any cash straight away. Scothorn says that gave him confidence that the itemizing was actual.
“I thought, ‘This is great,’ ” he says. “It looked really nice.”
Things received slightly bizarre, although, as soon as Scothorn received in contact with Rivera. He says she advised him she’d moved to New York to begin a brand new job and couldn’t present him the condominium.
Next, he heard from somebody who mentioned her identify was “Lauren” and answered certainly one of his emailed questions.
Then, he couldn’t get a solution about precisely the place the promised parking spot was — solely that it was “nearby.”
Still, he was despatched a six-page sublease settlement with extra pictures of the condominium, Unit 204, together with the eating space, kitchen, laundry home equipment, mattress and toilet.
The settlement specified a complete of $8,400 for six months of hire, plus a refundable $1,400 safety deposit.
Scothorn says he wasn’t going to pay that a lot with out extra data. So his husband went to go to the constructing.
“The safety particular person mentioned, ‘That’s unusual. There isn’t any Unit 204,’ “ Scothorn says.
Confused, Scothorn checked with the constructing’s leasing workplace and was advised that the second ground is a part of a lodge within the constructing — not an condominium for hire.
“It wasn’t that onerous for me to note it was a rip-off,” says Seth Friedman, a property supervisor for the constructing. “Floor 2 doesn’t haven’t any apartments.”
An e mail from ‘Gudelia Rivera’ about an condominium for sublet. The itemizing on Craigslist turned out to be a faux.
Relieved to not be out hundreds of {dollars}, Scothorn posted about his expertise on the social media web site NextDoor.com to warn individuals concerning the rip-off and contacted Craiglist, which took down the advert.
The Sun-Times tried to achieve “Gudelia Rivera” by the e-mail handle that was listed however didn’t hear again.
Apartment rental scams have gotten commonplace, as are trip rental scams.
Experts say scammers, in some instances based mostly abroad, steal pictures and knowledge from actual condominium listings to create faux posts, hoping to pocket the hire cash earlier than the sufferer realizes it’s faux.
Craigslist cautions customers they need to “deal locally, face-to-face — follow this one rule and avoid 99% of scam attempts. Do not rent or purchase sight-unseen — that amazing ‘deal’ may not exist.”
The federal authorities says to be careful for these crimson flags:
The hire is unusually low for the world. The advert accommodates spelling or grammatical errors. The proprietor claims to be busy or out of city and might’t present the unit. The proprietor insists on a wire switch to pay the hire and safety deposit. That’s the equal of sending money: Once it’s wired, it’s gone. The proprietor insists on getting your Social Security quantity earlier than you’ll be able to confirm that the providing is authentic.
Consumers can do a reverse-image search on-line to verify whether or not pictures in an internet condominium itemizing are copies.
Doing precisely that, a Sun-Times reporter discovered that the “Gudelia Rivera” condominium photographs additionally had appeared in listings in San Francisco on Zillow or different websites way back to 2014.
Scam on-line adverts may be reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.
The proposed lease settlement for a downtown Chicago condominium that didn’t exist.Provided doc
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