Five Money Scams to Watch out for on Craigslist Boise

Thousands of people use Craigslist daily to advertise things that they have for sale or trade. Everything from personal items to automobiles, trucks, recreation vehicles, sporting equipment, and homes for rent or sale appear on the site. While most people have positive experiences with the site, there are some that have not been so fortunate. Scammers have become aware of the popularity of the site and they’ve figured out ways to trick people out of their hard earned cash with a variety of different flim-flam operations. Here are five money scams that have appeared on Craigslist in the Boise area that you need to watch out for.

1. Boise Craigslist Rental Scam

A Boise woman was looking for a place to live at a difficult time in her life. Sharilin Caskey saw an ad on Craigslist for a house that was located in Nampa. The supposed owner claimed that he and his wife were currently out of town for medical treatments for his wife who he claimed had leukemia. It sounded reasonable because he said that they would show her the house when they returned home. He had her complete a rental application along with a rental agreement that included a deposit to secure the home. She went to a bank and secured a money order to send a deposit to hold the house. After doing this, the so-called owner asked her for pictures of the receipts that she was given when purchasing the money order. This raised a few red flags. She called the number she was given but there was no answer. She received a text from a different number that claimed it was his wife’s phone. She had already sent the money. She reported that she had lost more than $1,500 in the deal when she discovered that the man she first contacted was not the real owner of the home. He had hijacked someone else’s ad and set her up to become his victim.

2. Yet another rental scam in Boise

A Boise man was looking for a new home when he placed an ad on Craigslist explaining his situation. A response came from a person with an offer that was in the part of town he had specified and the cost was within his price range. The person even supplied pictures of the rental and told him that he could check out the property on his own and gave him the address. He checked it out and found it suitable, but when he called the man back he was told that the supposed owner was with his daughter who wa having surgery adn he could send the depossit money to the guy’s brother through Money Gram transfer. Colin checked it out and he was a real person, but something didn’t feel right, so he called the property manager listed on the property. He discovered that the contact person he’d been dealing with was a scammer that didn’t have the right to rent the property. He narrrowly escaped becoming the victim of a rental scam in Boise.

3. Robbery through Craigslist Boise

An Apple iPad was listed for sale on Craigslist Boise and it was offered at a great price. The person who placed the ad agreed to meet the potential buyer at a specified location to let him look at the item and make the purchase. When the Boise Idaho man showed up at the agreed place, he was met by two men who were armed. It had been a setup to rob him of the two hundred dollars he would have paid for the iPad. Much to the robbers’ surprise, the man that they tried to rob was an Ada County sheriff who was conducting an undercover investigation about this particular Craigslist scam that had been reported. The scammers were arrested and charged with felony robbery and on top of that, with grand theft.

4. Overpayment scam on Craigslist Boise

When an Idaho Falls woman attempted to sell used textbooks for $200, she received a response to her ad from a scammer who said he wanted to buy the books. They made an agreement for a price of $200. Instead of sending $200, a check for $1,800 was sent and it was followed by a phone call that informed her it had been a mistake. He asked if she would cash the check, keep the $200 and send the rest back through Western Union. Instead of completing the request, the woman investigated the check and discovered that it was fake. She came close to becoming the victim of the old overpayment scam.

5. Phony job scam

A woman replied to a listing on Craigslist in the Boise area that paid $500 per month for posting on the site. She applied and was “hired” with the fake company and was directed by the to open a checking account in her name. Her supposed supervisor requested the numbers for the account and the associated card and they claimed that they would take care of everything else. She received a text that informed her that her boss had died in an accident and that no payment was going to be made because the company could not determine what work she had done. When she threatened to call her lawyer, she was contacted and told that her boss had really been in a coma and had woken up. When she checked on the account, she discovered that it was $9,000 overdrawn. When she tried to contact the boss, the number was disconnected. She had been taken for more than $9,000 in the scam.

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