Fake Check for Rent

Do you want to bookmark ?

Renting out rooms is not uncommon in the over-50 population. Empty nesters with large houses want to rent out rooms to help offset some expenses. The landlord places an ad about the rental opportunity; sounds reasonable, right? But there might be someone lurking with an offer that will certainly leave you with empty pockets and an empty room.

A potential roommate calls or emails you; they love the place and cannot wait to move in. They tell you that they want to send you a cashier’s check for a year’s amount of rent and maybe a little extra to cover any unforeseen fees. So what is the harm? The check is fake. You, the unsuspecting victim, deposit the check in the bank and the funds become available. (The bank is required to give you access to these funds you deposit within days, but they cannot always be sure the check is valid at the same time.) You read your receipt from the ATM or call the bank and you think the check has cleared. Then the perpetrator calls and states they made a mistake, can you wire some money back to them or they need you to wire money to a furniture shipping company for their items to be shipped. So off you go to your local wire service where you are essentially sending the scammer your “real” money, because once your bank has received word that the check is fake, guess who will be left to cover the funds? YOU!

Some rental rip-off red flags:

• They claim to be moving from outside the area or even another country. They send a check or money order for rent, plus extra to cover shipping expenses for their belongings. They ask you to forward the excess to someone, but they could have easily done this themselves.

• They have unexpected expenses and ask you to cash a check or money order, then send some of the deposit back as a favor. They most likely never intended to move in. By the time you discover the scam, they have already moved on to their next victim.

NEVER WIRE FUNDS TO AN UNKNOW PERSON OR ENTITY—anyone who asks you to do so is a most likely a scammer.

Please be careful and pay attention to the business transactions you are conducting with people whom you have never met. That person could pretend to be anyone. If your gut is telling you something is not right, listen! Intuition is very powerful.

By Amy Nofziger, Program Leader AARP ElderWatch