Rental Vacation Fraud: How to Avoid Being a Victim

Imagine if your spring break vacation went like this: You and a group of your closest friends arrive in Miami. Bags in tow, you hop in a cab, and direct the driver to go to the address that is listed on the lease agreement for the luxurious condominium you have rented for the week. The cab driver takes you to the street where the address should be located, but the address doesn’t exist.   

Frantic, you and your friends walk up and down the street dragging your luggage, trying to locate the address on your lease agreement. Finally, you spot a condo that looks exactly like the listing you responded to. Figuring that there must have been a typo on the lease agreement, you and your friends ring the doorbell expecting the landlord to greet you and hand you the keys so your vacation can finally begin. 

Instead, a man tells you that he is the owner of the home and that the space is not used for renting. Stunned, all of you stand out in the baking Miami sun and try to quickly figure out a Plan B. Can you imagine starting your spring break this way? Well, this is exactly the story that six of my friends had to tell when they came home from Florida.   

Rental fraud of condos and time-shares are common scams. Rental fraud is the renting of a space that the scam artist doesn’t own. The grifter finds a way to enter the space, take pictures, and advertise the space for rent. The person who answers the ad becomes the mark. The mark will then pay the rental cost and security deposit. The con artist pockets the money and the mark loses his or her rent and security deposit. The perpetrator will use different avenues to advertise the fake property for rent. In the case of my friends, the advertisement was listed on Craig’s List.  However, Craig’s List, newspaper classifieds, and other online publications that contain listings or advertisements are not financially liable for fraud stemming from a posted ad in their publication. 

So what should you do if you fall victim to rental fraud: contact the police department or district attorney. Provide a written statement explaining the events that occurred. The statement should include: