Fraudulent Rental Ads: Police Warn Against Scam

PETALUMA, CA — The Petaluma Police Department warned residents Friday about a scam that has victimized some community members who were looking to rent a room or residence.

"In this scam the suspect creates a fraudulent rental advertisement or duplicates a legitimate advertisement on Craig’s List or something similar," Petaluma police Sgt. Rick Cox said. "The victim responds to the add and corresponds with the suspect via email, phone, or text."

The suspect attempts to validate their identity and the legitimacy of the ad by providing the victim with a personal photo or a photo of an identification card, Cox said.

The suspect then asks the victim to send cash or check to an out-of-state address, or to transfer money to a bank account, in order to secure the property, the sergeant said.

"These bank accounts are often fraudulently created and used temporarily while the suspect obtains the cash from the victim," Cox said. "These suspects are difficult for law enforcement to catch as the photos and identification cards are often from previous victims of the scam and used to direct law enforcement’s attention away from actual suspect."

Additionally, the scammer usually gives a fake phone number, and their email addresses tend to have been recently created with no identifying owner information, police said.

Here are some ways Petaluma police say community members can protect themselves from falling prey to this scam:

• Be wary of advertisements that have misspelled words or poor grammar and the suspect’s tone is overly thankful.
• Do not send money, cash or checks to a stranger's bank account or address.
• Verify the advertisement by arranging an appointment to meet with the owner of the residence, at the residence.
• If you do the above, notify a friend or family member with the location in the event of an emergency or life-threatening situation.
• Financial transactions should only be completed once you have visited the interior of the residence, verified the room/residence is vacant, and met the owner of the residence in person.

Any community members who feel they may have been a victim of this scam should call Community Service Officer Zavala at 707-781-1217.