Craisglist scams!! Can't we make Craigslist help?

Question

Scammers are taking photos from other postings (not on Craigslist) and using them for ads to scam people.   even when we flag the postings, CRaigslist does not remove them for everyone just on the computer that flagged it.

CAn we as an industry, require Craigslist to do more to stop these scammers !  They are prevalent in my area, showing fake drivers; licenses to prove to applicants that they are the owners.  Horrible

John Collins · Answer

I have found great talent through CL in terms of remodeling, you just have to know how to talk to them to weed out the junk. I think my OCD helps in this regard. Alot of crap, but 5-10% are incredible value and even long term contacts who I give a lot of work to.

For renting, well, no, and it's on you for even trying that route.

Aaron Poling · Answer

This has been going on for a long time and I haven't found much that can be done about it. I still use it for land and commercial listings but won't post residential listings on it. The scammers pull listings that aren't on craigslist and post them anyway, so it doesn't necessarily help.

I think their lack of enforcing anything has hurt their business. Thanks Aaron

Aaron K. · Answer

@John Collins unfortunately no, scammers can have people peek in the windows and get by with a dumb excuse of "it's being re-keyed" or I'm really busy and can't show it at the moment, but I've had a lot of interest and can hold it with a deposit of 1 month's rent" etc.

Or they can call you and get your lockbox combo, and good luck tracking them down and sending them to the guillotine because most of them are overseas and never even see the property.  And if you think you can vet someone before a showing with some form of ID, who would have better access to fraudulent IDs pay stubs, etc. than someone posing as a landlord and collecting the same info.

John Collins · Answer

YES, and as someone who wants to prevent scammers, I use a lockbox on properties! Are you cool with inviting squatters in? You can't get in unless you break in a window! When someone who is on craigslist realizes they can't get in , they'll likely realize the fraud they were dealing with.

Unless it's an inside job and the scammer has your lockbox code, in which case, you can track down who has had access to it and send em to the guillotine.

Aaron K. · Answer

@John Collins you are missing the point entirely, obviously the REAL OWNER should do all these things, but you are trying to prevent scammers from using your property as a prop without your consent.  People don't read for rent signs if they believe they have already communicated with the owner/ manager.

John Collins · Answer

At the very least, you should have a lockbox? Or you're inviting trouble. There's generally a sign outside anyways with the basics and most showings are given a time verified by realtor. Why wouldn't you put in an extra 10 minutes of your time before the house is put on the market?

This is what I use and am very flexible

https://www.showingtime.com/my-home/

Ray R. · Answer

1. Watermark with a tel. # all my pictures. What a pain if you have lots

of pictures...

2. In Google you can set up alerts for your address. I am worried about my inbox getting buried with alerts, but it's worth try.3. In Craigslist you can set up alerts on your address

4. Police and FBI usually won't do much. I do plan on calling tomorrow,

but I am not expecting much.

5. Signs saying your units empty can cause more problems

6. Using your real address is a mixed bag. Some sites require it, plus the challenge of reviews.

7. WIth Craigslist, to get the adv. removed, claim copyright violation.

8. Alarms for empty units with remote access is a great idea.

9. Scammers are also after personal information, for identity theft.

10. Scammers are often out of country.

11. Craigslist if you delete it, will only delete it on your computer

unless they get multiple complaints. Craigslist is very slow to react.

12. I wonder if something can be done with reverse image search, and

setting up alerts.

13. Stickers on the door that verify the rental price company and how someone would be contacted.

14. Video if you can, there are some portable solutions that use a cell signal, so you don't need to have Internet set up. Or have a wired video system. Fake cameras probably would not hurt, if you don't have a video camera system in place. The video camera systems we have in place have helped a huge amount make our rentals a nicer place.

Ray R. · Answer

@Dennis M. - I did a test post on Craigslist Marketplace and it did get a lot responses the one day it was up for two listings. People that responded were low quality leads it seems.  My wife/partner/boss had me take it down, because it was linked to my personal Facebook page, and we try to keep personal and business separate. The headache is at this time Face Book does not allow business pages to post to marketplace. You can use a thirdparty service to post to Facebook marketplace, but then you lose the messaging ability.

Ray R. · Answer

@Aaron K. - Thanks for the idea on the stickers!  Very useful!First time mentioned on the various scam threads I have been looking at on Bigger Pockets.