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.
- Be cautious of a deal that seems too good to be true.
- Do not send the first month’s rent or a security deposit to anyone they haven’t met with in person.
- Wire money to known, trusted recipients.
- Payment requests made via electronic funds or wire transfers are considered suspicious.
- Meet in person. Also, consider asking the landlord for a U.S. based address to send payment. Verify their identity and location.
- Consult your bank and read the fine print about what protections are in place when sending money.
- When booking a vacation rental online, only use reputable websites. Don’t send money to unknown sources.
- 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.
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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.
