House Renting Scam?

[CBrowning84]

So to make a long story short, my wife and I have been looking for a house, found one on craigslist for a great price, emailed the guy, and he replies with a nice email and a "rental form" (basically a short questionnaire), also says he is on a "mission trip to Africa" (bothered me slightly at first but didn't think to much into it as the email was so normally written). Well I fill out the form, send it, then start thinking... it all didn't sit well with me, so I look up online about rental scams and sure enough, there are other people that have had VERY similar emails and turns out to be a scam.

Question is... since I already gave the guy all my personal information (name/address/phone, etc.... NO money or anything like that) is there anything that they can do with that??

Anybody else have any experience with this? :shrug:

 

[Black*Death]

That suxs...imagine your social security as well? I have not heard of this but is a damn could way to get personal information.

I would try Craig's list. may be able to help if he is a scammer

 

[Screw-Rice]

Pretty common scam these days. Always surprised when someone falls for it. Expect to get a emails,calls, etc of people trying to scam you with the info you provided. Really hope you didn't mention anything about your financial institution.

 

[CBrowning84]

The ONLY personal information I gave him was my full name, profession, phone number, income, and address (apartment).

There's no way I would have given any information like SS, bank, etc. through an email like that... I might be a little naive but I'm no dummy!

 

[thapr3dat0r]

Common scam. Same attempts happened to me from C-List ads when I was apartment searching. They will likely use the info you provided for more scams, spam or worst case scenario, identity theft. I recommend keeping an eye on your credit report for any new accounts or activity you didn't initiate.

 

[Uncle Meat]

Majority of what you gave him is already public record. I wouldn't worry too much.

U.M.

 

[HEMIHUNTER]

You need to start messin' with his head now.

 

[WireEater]

I only wanted it so I could send you a birthday cake.

 

[CBrowning84]

Common scam. Same attempts happened to me from C-List ads when I was apartment searching. They will likely use the info you provided for more scams, spam or worst case scenario, identity theft. I recommend keeping an eye on your credit report for any new accounts or activity you didn't initiate.

Can they do that with that little of information I provided? If so, how do I keep a check on my credit report?

Majority of what you gave him is already public record. I wouldn't worry too much.

U.M.

Good point... thanks man. :beer:

You need to start messin' with his head now.

For sure!!! Any ideas? :thumbsup:

I only wanted it so I could send you a birthday cake.

How did you know my birthday is in 4 days! Stalker! (are you watching me now? What am I wearing!) :dw:

 

[Ebeeson0502]

Its funny, they only use to do it to people selling electronics, then it evolved to add vehicles and now just about anything.

Ive had so many scam emails about my hood on craigslist ><

 

[thapr3dat0r]

Can they do that with that little of information I provided? If so, how do I keep a check on my credit report?

Probably not, but when it comes to your credit and finances, you can never be too careful.

You can get a free credit report once a year from any of the three credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experion and TransUnion. You can get unlimited reports if you suspect there is any erroneous info on your credit. I used freecreditreport.com. Now I use USAA. It saved my ass a couple times. Someone with the same first name, middle initial and the same first three of my social defaulted on his mortgage and it popped up on my credit. I was notified immediately and disputed it. A potentially serious problem swiftly solved. The key is catching these issues early. This was right before I was going to buy my condo. That would have ****ed me and probably prevented me from buying it. For $20 a month, it is a very worth while invenstment.

 

[ff500]

Someone tried to scam me on cl for a $50 foosball table I have on there, he wanted all sorts of info from me. The last email I sent him was I was forwarding his email address to the FBI fraud division, never heard from him again.

I would call any of the 3 credit bureaus and put a 90 day fraud alert on your credit file, if anyone tries to use your info they would need to contact you to verify. I also would join a credit monitoring service.

 

[CBrowning84]

Good advice, thanks guys