As college students scramble to find off-campus housing at the last minute, FBI Boston and local police are sounding the alarm about too-good-to-be-true rental scams in the region’s highly competitive real estate market.
Authorities are urging renters to be vigilant while responding to rental properties and real-estate online, stressing that this is a peak season for rental scams — which last year cost 290 reported victims in Massachusetts a total of nearly $9 million.
Just recently in Cambridge, for example, police reported that they helped take down a fraudulent rental property listing from Craigslist.
The rental was listed as a brand new one-bedroom apartment with a balcony in Central Square for $1,800 a month. However, with rental rates climbing, the average rate for a one-bedroom rental in Cambridge is about $3,000 a month.
A Cambridge Police detective investigated the posting, determined that it was a scam, and notified Craigslist and the actual leasing office of the fraud. The resident did not end up transferring any money over to the scammer.
“We have seen a significant increase in the amount of money being lost by people who are desperate for a good deal,” said Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston division. “Scammers are cashing in on renters who need to act quickly for fear of missing out, and it’s costing consumers thousands of dollars, and in some cases, leaving them stranded.”
Nationwide last year, 11,578 people…
