5 Craigslist Denver Money Scams You Should Watch and Avoid
Criminals from all over the world have figured out that they may make a quick ill-gotten profit by preying on unsuspecting shoppers on Craigslist Denver. Cons that target monetary transactions multiply every day. Any user of the site, whether looking for an apartment, a car, or a job, runs the danger of falling prey to a con artist. The Denver, Colorado, area of Craigslist has not been an exception. Listings in this Rocky Mountain community have been plagued by at least five different types of malicious scams, as reported by victims, the media, and local law officials, all of whom have had enough by this point.
Craigslist Denver PayPal Scams
Even though PayPal is a reliable business that takes consumer privacy seriously, scammers can still use the platform to steal money from unsuspecting users. Denver PD received a report of a new fraud in October 2014. Suspects have been contacting sellers on Craigslist, claiming to be interested in purchasing products they have listed for sale.
After that, they let the vendors know that they accidentally deposited an excessive amount of money into the seller’s PayPal account and request a wire transfer of the excess funds to an unknown third party. Unfortunately for the vendor, they find out too late that the PayPal account was fake and that no money was ever transferred.
For this reason, it might be difficult for honest buyers and sellers to determine who to trust when conducting business with PayPal or similar payment systems. The golden rule for security is to question anything that seems out of the ordinary and to never reveal any private information. Legitimate people won’t accidentally overpay you and then demand their money back.
Car-selling scam in Denver
Scammers using Craigslist in Denver were alerted to a new scam on Craigslist Denver in October of 2016. Vehicles for sale ads were being posted on local classifieds websites by people pretending to be local. They were resourceful in that they provided not just a wealth of material but also numerous images and what appeared to be Denver-area phone numbers.
In search of his first vehicle, newly licensed 16-year-old Damian Martin began browsing around. Something didn’t seem right to him as he read through the posts, he claimed. Numerous ads appeared to be copies of one another; they all featured identical text and specifications, right down to the mileage and model year, but different images.
After hours of searching, he became upset since they kept coming across fraudulent ads and no legitimate listings for vehicles. There should have been major red flags since the agreements were too good to be true. They followed through and contacted the vendors, who maintained that they couldn’t chat on the phone and requested email interaction only.
Even though the provided phone numbers looked like they were in craigslist denver, the sellers emailed them and claimed to be from out of state. The sellers insisted on receiving payment via eBay and said they’d send the car out as soon as the funds cleared. While savvy customers can avoid falling for this, some still do and end up paying for a car they never receive.
A QuiBids Scam
Quibids money scam appeared started showing up on Craigslist in Denver in 2015. A con artist will advertise that they have a phone for sale, but when they are approached about it, they will pretend that they have already sold it through Quibids.
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— Quibids Scam (@IsQuibidsAScam) June 28, 2012
Instead, they will direct the potential buyer to a website where they will make it appear as though they had bought and resold three phones in order to trick them into falling for the con. They even offer photographs along with descriptions of the phones. Scammers aid in linking victims to legitimate auctions on the website, where victims place bids by phone but never ever win. When members of the Craigslist community report suspicious ads, the site promptly removes them.
Con Artists Pose As Pastors In False Rental Ads To Steal From Aurora Victims
A new scam happening in Denver has been reported to the FBI that is affecting people in the Denver area and across the United States. A house in Aurora, Colorado is for sale and may be found advertised on craigslist Denver. The con artist lists the house for sale for only $400 in an attempt to take advantage of the victims’ trust in him by pretending to be a pastor. They are using real estate listings, complete with photos and descriptions.
The con artist advertises a house for rent in Aurora on Craigslist for about $400, and he pretends to be a clergyman in order to play on the victims’ good natures. There was a rental fraud going on, and the actual homeowner had no idea their home was being exploited in the scheme.
Scammers utilized real images of the house in a fake listing that falsely claimed it had facilities that were not present. The con artist even uses the real estate agent’s name and explains why she hasn’t taken down her sign. This rental scam has received extensive attention and study. They advise potential tenants not to get in touch with the realtor, saying that she should be avoided at all costs.
Shawn Kelley is a man, but the con artists think he is a woman. The con artist poses as a clergyman so as to acquire the trust of potential victims. They really went for it with this one, appropriating the identity and Facebook profile of a real pastor in Pennsylvania named Dave Heckler.
Woman Unknowingly Works With A Rental Fraud Company
A Parker, Colorado, resident said she earned $350 per month working for a rental agency founded by her sister-in-law. According to Julie Jacobs, who also participated in the fraud, the scam was contrived by Ilissa Nelsen. Advertisements for the same organization have appeared under the titles Rental Specialists, Global Relocation, Universal Rentals, Nationwide Rentals, and Across Town Rentals, among others.
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Customers paid the $350 holding fee after seeing ads for rentals on the sites, but when they tried to contact the rental agency, they were ignored. When the customers tried to get their money back, the fake rental agency vanished. The Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation into the matter.
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