Scam Alert from Polk County FL Sheriff Grady Judd
Not to long ago I had a call from an out of state gentleman who told me that he was interested to rent a property in Lakeland FL which he found on Craigslist but wanted to make sure that this was a legitimate ad. He told me that he emailed the owner to inquire and the owner replied that he is currently on a mission trip in Nigeria and that he need to send him money right away to hold the rental.
Although I don’t handle rentals, I felt that he needed my help because this tactic had scam written all over. As it turned out after looking up the address in the multiple listing service (MLS), the property was currently for sale and not listed for rent. Even though the caller told me the owner’s name, I was suspicious about the story of him sending money to Nigeria because you can easily find the name of the property address by going to the Polk County Property Appraiser’s website.
I instructed him to contact the listing agent to get some more information and get to the bottom of this. Folks, you can’t be too cautious about such scams and that is why Polk County’s Sheriff Grady Judd issued a press release with warning signs and tips to prevent these types of internet scams.
I have included this alert right here below for your information. Please remember, if it sounds to good to be true, nine out of ten times, it is not.