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6 Investigates: Corpus Christi Rental Scam
Posted: Oct 4, 2012 10:16 PM by Mike Manzoni -- mmanzoni@kristv.com
Updated: Oct 4, 2012 11:16 PM
CORPUS CHRISTI -- A man who advertised his house for rent was shocked when he discovered that another person was advertising the same house online, but for a lower price, and without his permission.
"There is a scam that's going around that I'm just barely finding out because this is my first time renting my house out," said homeowner Bryan Pinon.
In an e-mail sent to a prospective renter, the scam artist, who advertised the house for $750 per month, writes, "Myself and my husband owns the house and also want you to know that it was due to our transfer to Paterson, New Jersey, for our missionary work that made us to leave our property."
The number listed on the fraudulent advertisement is disconnected, and a text message we sent inquiring about the house was not returned.
But a scam such as this one is nothing new. It is a variation of the popular Nigerian rental scam which has existed since the 1980s. On it's website, the FBI has a warning explaining that "The criminals search websites that list homes for sale. They take information on those ads ...and post it with their own e-mail address in an ad on Craigslist."
"Everything that we worded online...they took our words out and reworded it a little bit," said Pinon.
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