For the third time in 3 months, a fraudster is successfully stealing identities of Downtown Los Angeles renters by impersonating a landlord, using the name of a real estate agent, and using photos and descriptions of previously posted properties for lease.
The perpetrator creates a Craigslist ad that looks authentic with full description, beautiful photos, attractive video, all copied from previous legitimate real estate listing. The asking price is about 1/2 to 1/3 of the real value, luring many unsuspecting renters who really need a Downtown rental bargain.
The scammer claims to be out of town and tells renters to fill out a Rocket Lease rental application form to capture all of the renter’s personal information to sell on the black market of stolen identities. The fraudster creates fake YouTube and Vimeo accounts to mimic the real videos. To give the impression that there is a real person around, the fraudster promises an open house soon, and the criminal provides an anonymous text phone line to make it appear as though there is a legitimate person to communicate with.
The latest fake rental listing is at http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/apa/4890514985.html
Please help to put an end to this fraud. If you see any Craigslist ads with prices that are much less than the market price, then FLAG the ad. If you see any Craigslist ad with a Rocketlease.com rental application link, then FLAG the Craigslist ad. If you see any Craigslist ad with an anonymous text phone number, then FLAG the Craigslist ad. Send a text to the fraudster to tell them that their fraud will not be tolerated in Downtown Los Angeles.
Send a text to the fraudster to let him know what you think about his rental fraud and identify theft at 213-992-5864