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Room rental internet scam takes Eugene college students for thousands

Reported by: Chris McKee

Email: chrismckee@kmtr.com

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Published: 3/27/2011 7:10 pm

Updated: 3/28/2011 7:39 am

EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) -- Eugene Police is warning area college students with rooms for rent about a new scam that’s taken thousands from local students.

The scam happened through the online classified listing website Craig’s List. Eugene Police says two victims in the last two weeks had postings on the site, seeking roommates for their residence.

According to police, each student was contacted by someone claiming to be a foreign student that was supposedly moving to Eugene soon and interested in renting out the room in the listing.

The scammers sent more than the cost of rent, then asked for the student victims to wire some of the extra money back.

The victims wired the cash, then found out later that the original payment from the scammer had bounced.

Together, the victims lost around 2000 dollars.

“I can't get it through enough, we take so many of the Craig's List scams, and what it comes down to is, like I've said several times in this, if it comes at any point, that you have to send money back, it's a scam,” says Janina Batten, a community service officer for the Eugene Police Department.

Eugene Police say some checks can take up to 45 days to process and determine whether or not they’re fake.

Before cashing a check or money order from someone you don’t know, never met, or merely talked to only online, police say people should consult their bank.

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Brada - 3/29/2011 12:42 AM

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Unfortunately you can't fix stupid ! This WARNING is at the top of EVERY Craigslist posting ... Avoid scams and fraud by dealing locally! Beware any deal involving Western Union, Moneygram, wire transfer, cashier check, money order, shipping, escrow, or any promise of transaction protection/certification/guarantee. What part of it IS NOT CLEAR ?

t4bidin - 3/28/2011 10:58 AM

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Almost every couple of months there's a story on the news about some new variation of this same old scam. Seriously, when is anybody going to send you a check for MORE than they actually have to?

RubyPanther - 3/28/2011 10:55 AM

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@KateM: as the story suggests, police warn about this class of scam every chance they get. So do other people. And really these emails are all suspicious. For every person that falls for it, there are thousands more who refused to send the extra back, knowing that meant it was a scam. And for every one who got the check, there are thousands more who deleted the email when they were asked for contact information way too early in the process.

RubyPanther - 3/28/2011 10:52 AM

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I got a whole bunch of these emails, and none of them passed the sniff test. They all had weird stories. None of them could answer simple questions like "why are you coming to Eugene?" With roommates, you want to ask specific questions about how they like to live, do they want a quiet place or a place they can "let loose." Will they use garden space, parking, etc. None of them could answer those. Instead they would say something like, "I know that finding a roommate with shared interests is important, I feel the same way." But then instead of answering the question, they would give a form asking for an address where to mail the deposit. Hold on their, cowboy, we didn't get that far yet! heh

jerrya - 3/28/2011 6:47 AM

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This type of scam has been happening all over the world for many many years. If it sounds too good to be true...it is! The "Cashiers Check" scam, the "Certified Check" scam. People wake the heck up!!! This has been happening on Ebay and other places for over 20 years!

Observer - 3/27/2011 11:07 PM

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This happens all the time with automobiles and other big ticket items. Even a supposed "Cashier's Check" can be fake and bounce. Just because your bank gives you credit on your deposit doesn't mean that the bank on which the check is drawn has cashed the check. You need to keep a photo copy of the check and call the bank on which the check is drawn to make sure that the check has been paid, on what day, and for what amount. The reason for asking the day and amount is that sometimes the crooks use a check number that has already been paid for a much smaller amount. Bottom line, if they want to send you a check and have you send back the extra amount, then it is a SCAM. That is a red flag. Stay away from any deal like that.

KateM - 3/27/2011 8:05 PM

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This exact thing happened to me in September! When the check arrived everything seemed so odd that I called the police to identify if the check was fake or if there was some way of knowing how legit the situation was. I was told to take the check to the bank and let the "potential renter" know that the space had been filled and I had taken the check to the bank for them to deal with it. I cannot believe it too this long for the police to actually warn other students. This has been a scam going on for months!

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