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Updated over 4 years ago on . Most recent reply

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JD Martin
  • Rock Star Extraordinaire
  • Northeast, TN
15,802
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How to stop scam Craigslist postings from Zillow or Realtor?

JD Martin
  • Rock Star Extraordinaire
  • Northeast, TN
ModeratorPosted

Hello all!

I have a problem that I cannot figure out a good way to solve.

Whenever we have a house that comes up for rent on Zillow (or Realtor, on occasion), in short order these scammers clip our posts and put them up on Craigslist. Typically there's no contact information other than if you try to e-mail through Craigslist. Sometimes they'll post up the address, which is a hassle because people end up wandering around the property, but more often than not what happens is we have to field a bunch of phone calls from people who go digging around trying to figure out how to get in touch with us and asking if the property cost is the Craigslist price or the price on Zillow.

When I see these, I flag them which usually doesn't get them taken down right away, so then I have to contact CL directly and have them taken down. Sometimes that happens quickly, sometimes it takes days.

What is everyone else doing about this? When I cruise CL I see some of my fellow LL houses on there, so I know they're facing the same issues. I've been told to watermark my photos, which is one idea, but I wanted to see what other strategies are out there.

Thanks!

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Skyline Properties

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45
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37
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Ethan Jacobsen
  • Property Manager
  • San Diego, CA
37
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45
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Ethan Jacobsen
  • Property Manager
  • San Diego, CA
Replied

This is an issue for us as well. It's a hassle and tenants are getting scammed. We've tried to contact local law enforcement to see if there's anything we can do, but we can't do anything since we aren't the individuals being scammed. We offer virtual tours as well and some scammers have actually been successful in taking "security deposits" from people too. We watermark all our photos with out phone number, website, and logo. Sometimes even with wording to "verify all information and apply only through the website above" and "avoid scams". However, people are still getting scammed. I tried reaching out to a local news station and they haven't jumped at the story. We just want tenants to know the "red flags" that pop up and how to avoid those scammers. We have tried posting to Craigslist to deter some scammers from posting it twice, but there are still issues. That's really the only potential solution I can think of - if you consider that a solution. 

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