Beware of fraud

Internet scammers prey on consumers - even potential renters

To combat an Internet scam involving one of his houses, Sid Ziegler resorted to an old-fashioned method - posting a sign in the yard - to warn unsuspecting people that his place wasn't for rent, no matter what someone's fraudulent listing on a national Web site said. I

Melissa McDermott couldn’t believe what she saw offered on the Internet: A new three-bedroom house, with three bathrooms and a two-car garage, available for rent in Lawrence.

For $500 a month.

Perfect.

“I’ve been wanting a place with a garage, or maybe a yard,” McDermott said, of the listing she saw on a nationwide site that matches buyers and sellers. “So I e-mailed the guy and told him I wanted to look at the house, and he e-mailed me back.”

Turns out the “guy” said he was in Africa, on a mission with his wife. They just needed someone to take care of the house while they were gone, and didn’t have time to find an agent to handle the deal before they left, so they were just looking for someone to move in. Cheap.

Just send $500, the guy said, by Western Union and he’d mail the keys.

By now McDermott really couldn’t believe it, and didn’t.

She drove by the house, discovered it was for sale and that the real owner had no idea the place was being shopped around by a purported missionary on another continent.

“It’s really terrible,” she said. “I’m a single mom with two kids, and he tried to steal $500 from me. I didn’t really know until I drove by. I’m really naive. I didn’t even think it was a scam. :

“I could’ve gotten taken.”

Authorities say that such online scams – even as brazen as trying to “rent” or “sell” someone else’s real estate – are becoming more common, and can be particularly troublesome during the holiday season.

Bah, humbug

With shoppers increasingly going online to shop and hunt for bargains, and with a general spirit of goodwill permeating the holidays, the stench of opportunistic scam artists in cyberspace is something to be especially mindful of, said Charles Branson, Douglas County district attorney.

“The biggest thing for people to remember is to just be extremely vigilant,” said Branson, whose Consumer Protection Division educates people about such scams and takes complaints about them for potential investigation. “There’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of a good deal, but you need to verify – find out some ways to try to verify what somebody’s telling you.

“If somebody says they’ve got a great deal for you, get more information. Make sure you know how to get hold of them. Ask for references, if it’s somebody you’ve never heard of.

“You have to, unfortunately, in this day and age – especially with computer involvement – be suspicious of every transaction you do.”

Sid Ziegler didn’t waste much time, once he heard about the home scam.

Ziegler, owner of Ziegler Corp., actually built the home on Genessee and has been looking to sell the place for months. His list price is $214,900.

Rent it? For $500?

“No way,” he said last week. “If I were to rent it, it would be $1,500 to $1,800. :

“I feel sorry for people. They’re probably saying, ‘This is the opportunity of a lifetime.’ But if they send this guy money, they’ll turn around and realize it’s probably the worst thing they’ve ever done.”

Be suspicious

Branson offers some tips for people to help them avoid getting caught in an Internet scam:

¢ Be suspicious. Be wary of any solicitation by e-mail. “You generally should never, ever respond to any of those things.”

¢ Make contact, and keep contact. Be sure you have a way to get in touch with the person doing the selling. Meeting in person is best. “If the only way you can find that person is by the ad that’s been placed, that might just be a clue that there’s something else up.”

¢ Be certain. “Don’t part with your money until you have something in your hand. That’s one of the easiest things. Don’t let your money out of your hand until somebody’s already put something in yours. If they’re willing to sell it to you, they’re going to take your check as soon as you get it.”

¢ Don’t wire money. Sending cash by Western Union offers no protection against fraud. “It’s gone, and there’s no recourse. That money is just flat-out gone. You can’t charge it back. You might as well have left it in a cup on the street corner. It’s just gone.”

McDermott is thankful she didn’t fall for the scam, no matter how much she would have liked moving into the new home for $500 rent.

“It was just this big ol’ baloney story,” she said. “I’m glad I didn’t do it.”