Gullible suburban mother of four regularly duped in her half-century life. Exploring hoaxes and schemes as the ExSCAMiner, she attempts answering the nagging question: Should I have fallen for that? Got scam tips, email Karin at ScamExaminer@gmail.com.

More Articles
Topics

Free credit report is not F-R-E-E after 7 days

Hurricane damage continues with recovery fraud

He did what?!? Presidential campaign smears

Male enhancement matters to scammers

Best (also worst) inheritance scam

Better Business Bureau

Dept. of Health and Human Services

Multi-level marketing

Examiner Feeds

These websites were picked by the Scam Examiner as useful resources.

View: All Sources

Trunk Line

Snopes (Latest Urban Legends) - 6 hrs ago

Funny Money

Snopes (Latest Urban Legends) - 1 day ago

What Does Obama Read?

Snopes (Latest Urban Legends) - 3 days ago

Bruce Delburg Appeal

Snopes (Latest Urban Legends) - 4 days ago

Joe Biden's Debts

Snopes (Latest Urban Legends) - 4 days ago

Reporting scams online (no postage required)

Checking Stuff Out

E-mail addresses

Directly forward unsolicited commercial e-mail to SPAM@UCD.gov

National Examiners

J.D. Tuccille
Civil Liberties Examiner
Most Recent Post
Never mind a death ray; here's a pain ray

Jacob Osterhout
College Sports Examiner
Most Recent Post
ACC Basketball Preview: Virginia and Clemson

Liz Barrett
Celebrity News Examiner
Most Recent Post
Stars at the pumpkin patch: Gwen Stefani, Tobey Maguire, Heidi Klum and more (video and photos)

Jay McDonough
Progressive Politics Examiner
Most Recent Post
New Obama economic measures

Dan Spencer
Right Side Politics Examiner
Most Recent Post
Hundreds of economists oppose Obama's tax plan

Browse All Examiners

Find the Examiners
writing about your
favorite topics.

Find Examiners »

This space for rent (but maybe not by who you think)

1 comment

July 11, 1:54 PM

by Karin Malchow, Scam Examiner

With housing market instability, reluctant buyers and strapped homeowners turn to renting. Scammers are waiting for inexperienced landlords and new renters.

Scam No. 1: Scammers lift rental listings and photographs off websites, reposting them at amazing prices on sites like Craigslist. To ensure getting a lease before someone else snaps it up, renters pay a deposit holding the property before seeing it. The deposit goes to the scammer.

Scam No. 2: In hot rental markets, the scammer may actually rent the property himself, probably using a rubber check. He then quickly offers it up as the owner. In this variation, the scammer does show the property before collecting deposits from numerous potential renters; then he disappears.

Scam No. 3: At least one scammer who rented to 22 families ($2400 each) owned the house. Sort of. He reportedly had two mortgages and scammed others for large loans using the trust deed. While some may rent their homes to avoid foreclosure, other unscrupulous owners seek quick cash knowing the new tenants will be evicted.

Scam No. 4: The scammer may give tours and collect deposits on an unoccupied house he doesn't own or rent, having previously broken in.

Scam No. 5: New landlords are still being taken by the advance fee/Nigerian scam. Fraudsters will say the extra money included in the deposit check (often a forged cashier's check) may be for new furniture, moving expenses, a third party that owed the renter money, or an accounting mistake. The renter wants the additional funds wired immediately, of course, before the check bounces.

Tip: The County Clerk/Recorder's website can be the renter's friend determining property ownership or foreclosure information through public records.

Topics: Nigerian scam , rental property , Craigslist

Feed

Comments

Free credit report is not F-R-E-E after 7 days

Add a Comment

October 13, 11:13 AM

Unless you go to the right website. You can obtain your annual free credit report at www.AnnualCreditReport.com.If you get your credit report from Freecreditreport.com, you are signing up for a $14.95 a month credit monitoring service, unless you... Read More
Topics: sales tactics

Hurricane damage continues with recovery fraud

4 comments

October 9, 7:19 AM

Pre-Hurricane Gustav and Ike, scammers opened their usual bag of tricks: sending phishing e-mails to area residents under the guise of confirming bank information and setting up fake relief charity websites. Post-hurricane, the scammer deluge... Read More
Topics: fraud , FBI

He did what?!? Presidential campaign smears

4 comments

October 6, 9:32 PM

Whether presidential campaign smears come from pamphlets, letters, chants, television advertising, telephone push polls, internet rumors, campaign officials or supporters, people keep falling for them. According to rumors or accusations, which presidential... Read More
Topics: politics

Male enhancement matters to scammers

1 comment

October 4, 4:26 PM

MSN Health reported a preliminary Italian study suggesting an ancient Chinese herbal aphrodisiac could be a natural alternative to Viagra and other pharmaceuticals treating Erectile Dysfunction. Spamming internet scammers are likely to latch onto... Read More
Topics: E-mail

Best (also worst) inheritance scam

Add a Comment

October 1, 2:10 PM

Tales of estates snarled by bureaucracy still flood e-mail inboxes; a share of the vast fortune only requires immediate cash to either cheated heirs or estate locators for money transfer fees or bribes. The internet version of the inheritance scam... Read More

Does your city rank on reporting fraud?

Add a Comment

September 30, 12:12 AM

The Federal Trade Commission maintains a Consumer Sentinel database collecting complaints from 125 organizations, including the Better Business Bureau, the Internet Crime Complaint Center and the US Postal Inspection Service. The individual consumer... Read More
Topics: fraud , Identity Theft , FTC

Life after death

2 comments

September 26, 11:48 AM

A recap of insurance fraud items in the September 2008 news:Dead men don't go to the doctor.When Ahmad Akhtary's British ex-wife attempted to claim £300,000 insurance after reporting his death in Afghanistan, a couple items tripped up the scheme. ... Read More
Topics: fraud

Famous people confess badly kept secrets

3 comments

September 24, 3:36 PM

AP/People In honor of Clay Aiken's sexual orientation confirmation and Lindsay Lohan-Samantha Ronson dating relationship acknowledgement, here are some other not-so-startling celebrity revelations. Whether those in the public eye... Read More
Topics: suspicion

Keeping your head during economic strife

Add a Comment

September 21, 9:13 PM

Whether one believes the U.S. economy is a house of cards or undergoing a cyclical correction, a Ponzi scheme facsimile or fundamentally sound, a dose of Frank Capra is always fun. According to an MSN-Zogby poll, most people are taking recent economic... Read More
Topics: movies