Archive: Around Town

As students return, and the demand for Ithaca rental properties increases, the Ithaca Board of REALTORS® would like to take this opportunity to notify the public to beware of scam artists, particularly on Craigslist. Scam artists are aggressively searching through public records to better disguise themselves as the property owners or rental agents.

This is not unique to Ithaca; these scams take place all over the country.  The Ithaca Board of REALTORS® wants inform consumers of the risks and help them avoid losing thousands of dollars to these criminals.

Criminals steal pictures of properties from legitimate real estate websites and then list them 'For Rent' on Craigslist. When the consumer calls about the listing, they are asked for personal information such as social security numbers and credit card information.

Consumers can protect themselves by always checking for a valid business license of a property management company and not giving personal information over the phone. The consumer should insist on seeing the property and a copy of the lease before releasing any money or any personal information. Another red flag to consumers is if the rent or deposit seems too low. Consumers should search for the address online, such as realtor.com or IthacaRealtors.com, to see if it is listed for sale.  If it is listed for sale, then it is likely not for rent.  You should contact the listing agent to see if it is actually for rent.

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