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Vail Police

The Vail Police Department warned mountain town renters and tourists.  There is an uptick in rental scams targeted at those desperately looking for a place to live.  Homes for sale flying horse, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Further, the police department said scammers posted rental and vacation properties on Craigslist.  They establish “credibility” by re-posting pictures of properties.  These photos are from legitimate rental or real estate websites.  You should note that a lot of this fraud involves payment methods via PayPal or Zelle. Another red flag is strange e-mail messages.  Watch for ads with misspelled words, punctuation, and grammatical errors. 

Common rental tips:

Here are a few common things to be wary of when looking for a place to rent, according to the Vail Police Department.

  1. Be cautious of a deal that seems too good to be true.
  2. Do not send the first month’s rent or a security deposit to anyone they haven’t met with in person.
  3. Wire money to known, trusted recipients.
  4. Payment requests made via electronic funds or wire transfers are considered suspicious.
  5. Meet in person.  Also, consider asking the landlord for a U.S. based address to send payment.  Verify their identity and location.
  6. Consult your bank and read the fine print about what protections are in place when sending money.
  7. When booking a vacation rental online, only use reputable websites.  Don’t send money to unknown sources.
  8. Victims of an Internet-based scam may visit the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.  You can also contact your local law enforcement agency. The Vail Police Department can be reached at 970-479-2201.

Click here to view original web page at www.outtherecolorado.com

Darla Newton
Darla Newton

I am an active Realtor specializing in the Douglas County /El Paso County areas. I have experience listing and selling residential properties throughout Douglas County including: Castle Rock, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Franktown, Sedalia, and Larkspur. I am currently expanding my business to; Black Forest, Monument, Colorado Springs, Peyton, Falcon, Woodland Park, Divide and Cripple Creek.