Is this a scam or just weird?

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Is this a scam or just weird?

Joseph Weisenbloom
Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 443 posts · 174 votes

So I have a bedroom I am trying to rent out and I have been getting emails from a woman that claims to be in a remote fishing village in Alaska right now and is moving to Austin. She says they don't have phone service so she cant call me and she wont be able to sign a lease until she arrives in town. In all honesty I didn't really take it seriously because it sounded like a Nigerian prince scam. Usually I want to meet the tenant and explain them the lease before they sign. Make sure they are a real human and feel them out.

So she mentions she is going to mail a check for first months rent and deposit to secure the room. I forget all about it because it doesn't sound real. Well I get my mail today and find a check for $5600 from her which is deposit and 6 months rent. I was sort of floored because I've never had a tenant pay ahead like that but it also set off my spidey senses as well.

My question is would you accept a tenant that is renting a room sight unseen that you have never met before? Does this sound sketchy at all or just weird?

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Caleb Heimsoth
Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
7y

@Joseph Weisenbloom. I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, this a SCAM. One giant SCAM.

The way it works is that check is fake. You’ll deposit it, it’ll take the bank a few days or weeks to figure out it’s fake, then the “tenant” (scammer) will tell you they need some of that money back, then if you send them any, they get your real money and eventually the bank pulls the money from that check since it’s fake.

Again, one giant SCAM.

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  • Anthony Wick
    Rental Property Investor · Ankeny, IA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7y

    @Joseph Weisenbloom

    Let us pretend she’s just from the next state over and wants to rent your place sight unseen. And she seems really legitimate, unlike this lady. The answer is still no. You don’t rent your property to somebody unless you meet them or their representative in person.

    1Reply
  • Octavio AguirrePro Member
    Visalia, CA · Member since 2017 · 14 posts · 9 votes
    7y

    @Joseph Weisenbloom

    Wait for her to reply about her needing the money. Then tell her that you will mail her her check and that you never deposited it. Proceed to tell her that in your remote village there is only a post office and no way of sending a wire.

    Enjoy having a little fun with the scammers.

    1Reply
  • Kevin Allen
    Louisville, KY · Member since 2015 · 166 posts · 83 votes
    7y

    @Joseph Weisenbloom someone tried to scam a contractor a couple months ago by using one of my properties. I don’t know exactly how it was working but they were going to mail him a check to build a deck on “there” investment property. He tracked me down. The way they told him to build the deck would not have worked on this house. Luckily he thought it was a scam.

    0Reply
  • Ned J.Pro Member
    Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    Total scam....but I'd play along just for the fun of it. Tell her how excited you are and that you cashed the check and the property is all hers....then wait for stage 2 when she requests the refund....tell her you cant do a wire but you can send her a check....insist on an address....... and watch them squirm. If they come up with an address, use one of the online services that will send a bag dog poo...... a bag of rubber dicks..... or some other very offensive article that people send to people they hate...and send away....it will be worth a few bucks

    Or insist on a phone call....and then keep them on the line with some stupid story and a million questions..... lots of examples on YouTube about people messing with phone scammers.....hilarious....

    0Reply
  • Albert Ng
    Rental Property Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2015 · 401 posts · 221 votes
    7y

    @Joseph Weisenbloom

    It’s 100% scam and I wouldn’t waste my time with it. Nowadays, anyone with a computer & printer can print you a check of a few trillion dollars.

    If you still have any doubt, google the bank that issue that check, call them up and ask to verify the check.

    0Reply
  • Donna Brown
    Middletown, DE · Member since 2015 · 12 posts · 4 votes
    7y

    @Joseph Weisenbloom Don't do it, it is a scam!!!

    0Reply
  • Steve Mason
    Rental Property Investor · Nashville, TN · Member since 2017 · 38 posts · 15 votes
    7y

    @Joseph Weisenbloom

    Certainly sounds weird. I would just be leery about taking rent money in advance. If there's a problem it would be hard to evict.

    0Reply
  • Troy Stanford
    Baltimore, MD · Member since 2014 · 4 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    @Joseph Weisenbloom Ask for certified funds only. That stops this scam.

    0Reply
  • Marco Rodriguez
    Rental Property Investor · Hoschton, GA · Member since 2014 · 78 posts · 32 votes
    7y

    I got a similar email from someone responding to my Zillow Rental Listing. This guy was a police office in Alaska with no cell service. I thought about it for about 30 secs before I realized it was a scam. 

    0Reply
  • Joseph Weisenbloom
    OP
    Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 443 posts · 174 votes
    7y

    Wow I didn’t think this thread would be this popular. So I had a missed call this morning from this lady’s father. All of the numbers they have tried to contact me with so far have been google voice numbers. 

    I’m fascinated how people go about trying to conduct these scams. I’m hoping to string them along as long as possible for entertainment purposes.

    2Reply
  • Anthony Solis
    Rental Property Investor · Wilmington, DE · Member since 2018 · 36 posts · 23 votes
    7y

    I would be hesitant depositing that check. If this is a scam you could be at risk of losing your current banking relationship. Seems a little strange to be honest and generally it's a much better idea to screen the tenant before accepting them. Never met the tenant before, lives in a different state, and mails a large check... something doesnt add up here. Hopefully all works out, best of luck!

    @Joseph Weisenbloom

    0Reply
  • Judy Murphy
    Investor · Copper Center, Alaska/Indiana · Member since 2018 · 44 posts · 33 votes
    7y

    Yes, this is a scam.  However, for those folks that say "if you can text, you can talk", that is incorrect.  Texting requires a lot less data transmission than voice.  From my house (remote Alaska), I can text 95% of the time.  I can only carry on a phone conversation about 5% of the time...and usually that phone call gets cut off.  I therefor have to drive about 10 miles until I am in good enough cell service that will support the data for voice calls.  (Yes, I have a cell phone booster and wi-fi at my house with calling enabled.)  So, just to reiterate....the check you received is a scam.  Just don't discount it on the lack of phone service.

    2Reply
  • Scott P.
    Rental Property Investor · Indiana...mostly · Member since 2019 · 468 posts · 245 votes
    7y

    @Joseph Weisenbloom, if you have time, could you tell us how the situation turned out?

    0Reply
  • Joseph Weisenbloom
    OP
    Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 443 posts · 174 votes
    7y

    @Scott P. It was a scam. I copy pasted the email into google and other people had been sent the same email. Seems like sort if a stupid scam but hey i guess it works on some people. I have since stopped using Craigslist as a source to find tenants.

    1Reply
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