craigscrimelist

Number of Craigslist victims increases:
I originally posted about the craigslist rental scam in Covina, California here. I roginally said that the scammer didn't own the property. That turned out to be false. I just assumed that since that's how the scam normally works. The owner of the property at 5441 Calera Ave. in Covina is Pardeep Singh and police are having trouble locating him.

Also in the last post I mentioned that he had taken $2400 from a dozen people. That total is now up to 50 with some of them now homeless.

That's $120K that Mr. Singh has absconded with.

When they catch him each person who was ripped off by him should get 5 minutes alone with him, in a perfect world.

A Covina rental deal that proved to good to be true:
A dozen families in Covina, California fell for the too good to be true renters' scam on craigslist. Each paid $2400 to a person who didn't even own the property.

So far no one has been arrested.

I got an e-mail from someone calling themself PlayerPickle who is claiming that one of the infamous Rinaggio clan is attempting the same scams on the Fort McMurray Kijiji site. So be forewarned Albertians.

I received other comment about the alleged Rinaggio family. Infamous on this site for being the pseudo-surname of some craigslist real estate scammers. This time the comment comes to us from Julio from Spain...

Hello
I am writing from Spain and guess what? there is a Tom Rinnagio (although he/she has a problem as when he/she gave me this name, at the end of it signed as Larry...) offering an apartment in Barcelona for a price never seen in this city. Well, I knew it was scam but decided to look up in internet for this surname and found this page, so well, I guess this could be the same bugger. Well if this can help anyone, I'll be glad. or at least you can have a laugh with his email cause it's just like Lindsay mentioned in this same page on March 15.
The rent is 450 € per month with a damage deposit of 250 € and that include the utilities. I am looking for responsible tenants that is going to take care of the apt as if were is own and will be willing to make the apt clean as we left it. Actually my reason for wanting to rent the apt is because i was transfered by my company to our newly opened branch in West Africa Nigeria where i am currently residing with my family and won't be coming to the apt , and leaving the apt for that long without cleaning or someone taking care of it is very bad so i decided to rent it out for a short or long term lease depending on the person who wants to rent it. So since i will not be around to show the the apt i will like you to drive down there to take a look at the exterior of the apt and for the interior i will email you the pictures for you to see how wonderful it looks. I am with the keys and the necessary document meant for the house and the reason is that i tried to find an agent to help me handle the rent but couldn't see a trustworthy agent that was why i decided to come along with the key's and documents and handle the rent myself. I will like you to get back to me on how you can keep my house clean if i should rent it out to you and your experience with renting an apt.

I look forward to hearing from you and if am satisfied and convinced by your explanation then i would send the rental application form to fill out and discuss on how to get the apt for rent, also i will like to know when you are ready to rent the apt because the apt is available now.

and in the next one I received sent the application form asking for references, my employers address and phone number!!. The following is what he/she also wrote
Thanks for getting back to me. Well the apt is available as we speak now and will be available for rent for as lonf as you want because my family and i will be living here in Nigeria for a very long time so the apt will definatelt be availavle for as long as you want to rent it. Well i have agreed to rent the apartment to you, but before we proceed further i want you to know that as a new tenant you will have to fill the rental application form below, then after you have filled it and email it back to me then we will discuss more on how you will be getting the rental fee across to me and how i will get the apt key's and documents shipped directly to you. i want you to look at it carefully and if you really would want to proceed with the rent and you are quiet sure of taking very good care of my apt, you can fill it and have it emailed back to me, once i have received it, then we can proceed to the nextstep.

but, yes, this fellow has problems with his name...
see this part of the mail

My name is Larry Rinaggio. My current in Nigeria is 100 Queens Drive, Mushin, Lagos 23401 Nigeria.
and the day before...

Thanks for your response and interest in my apartment,my name is Tom Rinaggio am 43 years with my wife and a lovely daughter. The house is still available for rent starting from now.

well at least I'm having a good laugh, but I would like to find a way so the authorities could get hold of him but these seems rather difficult as even if I report to the police here in Spain, for when they move, it will be next century... however I will try

Remember, if you come across the Rinaggios or any other scammer send it in using the contact form. It may just help someone from being scammed.

Scammers Target Craigslist Realtor:
This is a story about Lexington, Kentcuky realtor Gwen Mathews. She's a real realtor. Someone from Nigeria has been posing as her on craigslist 'renting out' her properties. Of course the fake Gwen Matthews asks people to wire money which should be a dead giveaway to a scam.

The real Gwen Matthews has posted the following alert on craigslist...

There are some ads posted by gwenmathews74@yahoo.com, they are a scammer. They will ask you to wire money and mail you the keys. This is a new scam where people will list houses that are not actually for rent and that they do not own and request you to wire money to them in exchange for the keys.

The article also makes a great point that scammers and criminals like this on craigslist may drive people back to newspaper classifieds.

Craigslist, as usual, did not comment on the article.

Bozeman residents fall victim to Internet scams:
You can't even escape craigslist scammers in Big Sky country.

Residents of Bozeman, Montana have lately fallen prey to two of the standard craigslist scams. The fake house for rent and the over paid check/wire me back the money scam.

Bozeman residents who have been scammed are asked to contact the Bozeman Police.

Renters Targeted In Craigslist Scam:
Another story about another person who almost didn't see all the red flags until it was too late.

Sarah Rotch of Denver, no relation to Mike, saw a property that was too good to be true and was corresponding with the alleged owner from West Africa. But she actually contacted the true realtor to verify it was a scam.

The realtor Debbie Bates, no relation to Master, was shocked that this was happening on craigslist.

Who in the US would rent or buy a house from someone in West Africa anyway? Hell, I wouldn't do it from someone in Canada.

Local only folks.

I received an e-mail from Jamie who claims to have had an encounter with the infamous Rinaggio family...

I would like to report another case of a scam attempt by a person with the last name Rinaggio. He tries to get you to rent his 'friends house' but will not let you contact him by phone and so on. I caught him in a trap and he has since deleted his email (wanted4luvcrime@yahoo.com) He uses the names Ralph and Steve.

Would you rent from someone whose e-mail address was wanted4luvcrime?

Thank you Jamie for your e-mail.

Remember, sending your stories of scams in will help other people from being scammed.

I got this comment from an anonymous poster on the infamous Rinaggio clan...

Add steverinaggio@yahoo.com to that list of scammer emails, they are now hitting kijiji with ads for apartments as well. WATCH OUT PEOPLE!

So it seems their spreading out to other classified sites as well.

And why would you keep using the same last name if you're a scam artist?

I got another e-mail from a reader who has encountered another member of the infamous Rinaggio family.

This e-mail comes to us from Kristen...

Hello everyone i just read this email off google and i have had the same problem and just got ripped off 400.00 but the person i was talking to is going by the name of Brad Rinaggio, so its another scam!!! BIG TIME!
and he spoke the same way broken english and speaking alot about god. I have put a fraud warning out with western union about this "brad" and im about to call my local police and put in a fraud warning with them.
this time it wasnt a house it was a 2nd floor apartment for 900.00 bucks a month including until.
so watch out people this guy is still at it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Kristen.

Remember, sending in the craigslist scams and crimes you come across helps other people from being victimized.

Online rental ad revealed as scam:
According to the article someone is trying to scam would be renters in Portland, Oregon using the name Cole Smith Properties out of South Carolina.

Cole Smith does not appear on a list of licensed real estate professionals provided online by the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

So before you give information or money to an out of state realtor you may want to do a background check on them.

Targeted by Scams:
Even in the land of paradise there are craigslist scammers. Leslie Dean of Hawaii found that out recently...

For Leslie Dean, a single parent looking for housing, the online ad offer seemed ideal: $800 in rent for a three-bedroom house in Kahana near shopping, restaurants, beaches and golf.

“I happened upon one of those too-good-to-be-true deals,” she said.

She soon learned it was exactly that.

Responding to the posting on the free advertising Web site Craigslist, she began corresponding by e-mail this month with “Bello A.” He claimed to be a “successful petroleum engineer” who had “urgently” moved his family to West Africa for his new business before he could make arrangements to rent the three-year-old house. Explaining the low price, he said he was more interested in finding someone “who can promise us good maintenance and take the house like his or her own.”

After soliciting personal information, including her name, age, occupation, address and telephone number, “Bello A.” said he would “ship” the house keys to Dean once she wired an $800 “commitment fee” to him in Nigeria.

Thankfully Ms. Dean did not fall for the scam.

But obviously people have or esle the scam wouldn't keep perpetuating.

Local Realtors and law enforcement in Hawaii say that the scam is only appearing through craigslist. I wonder why that is. It couldn't be the total anonymity could it? You would think that faceless and nameless people on the internet would be the most honest people in the world. Of course I must be a corporate shill for the newspapers since I'm pointing out craigslist's obvious flaws which allow criminal activity to flourish. I'm awaiting the cult of craig to descend upon me any minute.

I've received another e-mail from a reader who encountered a real estate scam by someone using the last name of Rinaggio. We've had JoAnn and Karen and now we have George.

The following e-mail comes from Lindsay.

I want to report another apartment scam artist. I think this person has posted before as Joann or Karen Rinaggio. This time he/she posted at George Rinaggio, offering me a two bedroom apartment in a house that belongs to someone else who in turn is actually trying to rent their basement apartment at the same address.

This George character talks in broken english through e-mails, claims to be living in North Carolina and suggests that I go and look at the house and decide if I want it. He sent me pictures of the interior, and then told me that he will mail me keys after I fill out a rental application, handing over all my personal information including, past/previous employers, drivers licence, past/ addresses etc.

He stopped returning my emails after I mentioned the actual renters names, and the fact that I would go and knock on the door of the renters in the basement apartment, and see if they knew George to be their landlord. He also didn't like that I thought the pictures didn't make sense.

This person needs to be stopped! I noticed immediately after my response to his ad, he removed it from craigslist and contacted me from this e-mail address: graciousfield@yahoo.com. Don't give out any personal information online. If it sounds too good to be true it is! This guy also spoke a lot about the Lord, and putting his faith in me and the Lord to look after his home while he is away in North Carolina. WATCH OUT!

Remember if you come across a real estate scam on craigslist contact your local authorities and in the U.S. you can also contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

I received e-mails from two different readers warning of real estate scams from someone using the last name of Rinaggio on craigslist. While I can't say with certainty it's the same person it doesn't hurt to be forewarned.

The first e-mail comes to us from Danny...

JoAnn Rinaggio is trying to rent an apartment I own through ad:

I tried to get info from her and the info she gave for the money transfer was:

"I would like you to go ahead and send the money to the below information via Western Union Money Transfer so that i can get the keys and documents shipped to you as soon as possible so that you can go and view the inside of the apartment and you can move in at anytime.

Receiver's Name: JoAnn Rinaggio

The the e-mail goes on to list an address in North Carolina.

The second e-mail comes from Norma...

I WANT EVERYONE TO BE AWARE OF A POSTING ON CRAIGSLIST THAT IS A SCAM..BEEN TRYING TO CONTACT SOMEONE TO REMOVE APT POSTING BUT NO LUCK.

THE PERSON GOES BY THE NAME OF KAREN RINAGGIO. SAME LAST NAME AS JOANN RINAGGIO THAT I READ IN ONE OF YOUR ARTICLES.

If you know of a scam ad on craigslist contact your local authorities and the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Scammer targeting local renters on Craigslist:
How would you like it if you put your house up for sale only to get calls from people who wanted to rent it. That's what happened to Julie McEachern of Burien, Washington. People were responding to a craigslist ad for a house for rent only that Ms. McEachern never placed an ad with craigslist.

The craigslist ad was directly copied from the legitimate real estate listing for the house only with some language changed. Of course people should have been tipped off that this was a scam...

McCann started get suspicious when the fake landlord wanted $2,000 upfront and claimed he couldn't show the house because he was on a three-year mission trip to England.

The article also gives out some good advice when tryin g to rent or buy a property...

Anyone can find out who owns certain pieces of property on the Web site of the county property assessor.

And renters should always check out a rental property in person. Even without an appointment, renters can always knock on the door and find out whether the property is really for rent.

Not only that but even when dealing with real estate only deal with people in the local area.