Door County Vacation Lodging - Scam Alert

The purpose of this page is inform property owners or managers, advertisers, and web visitors of the latest scam information pertaining to vacation rentals. In recent years, scammers have taken quite an interest in this market, since it relies heavily on the use of the Internet, offers a considerable degree of anonymity, and has grown so much over the years. It is also attractive to scammers simply because it involves the electronic exchange of funds and email addresses.

There appear to be two major scams or hoaxes operating today, with many variations. The first is simply where the scammer is trying to collect email addresses to sell to junk mail companies. They send out bogus inquiries just to get a response in order to document a valid email address when the Property Owner or Manager responds. This scam isn't usually as serious as the second, since today's junk mail filters are better and better.

The second type of scam is far more serious. These schemes center around a scammer posing as a prospective guest appearing to be interested in renting a property. Many of these scams come out of Nigeria, the scam capital of the world (so it seems) but have become more sophisticated and may now come from anywhere in the world. These scams involve some variation of the "Advance Fee Fraud" type scam, which is designed in such a way as to con the victim into sending money back to the scammer for some reason. The traditional, generic approaches to this scheme have been well-publicized.

But when the scammer targets the vacation rental market, he or she usually follows a definite pattern to entice the victim to send funds, often in the form of a refund of overpayment for a future vacation rental. The scammer often initially sends a check or money order to pay for the rental, but they intentionally overpay. The scammer claims it was "an oversight", "a mistake", or "my plans have changed and I overpaid". The check or money order sent from the scammer looks fine but is almost always just an excellent counterfeit. By the time that document "bounces", which may take days or weeks, the victimized property owner has wired or sent a valid refund payment to the scammer. The scammer moves on quickly and cannot be easily traced and will usually have changed email addresses.

This scenario is described quite well in an interesting article in the March, 2005 issue of Rentor's.org News:

In a previous issue, this newsletter alerted readers to the vacation-rental variation of the notorious "Nigerian Scam."
Since then, the scammers have become even more sophisticated. The thieves may not necessarily be from Nigeria, though income from the Nigerian scam in all its forms reportedly makes it the fourth largest "industry" in that country.
Also known as "advance fee fraud," the scam begins when the thief inquires about renting your property, usually for two or more weeks. That boosts the amount of money involved, which is calculated to make you reluctant to turn down the booking.
The person insists on paying by check or money order and then sends you what looks like a legitimate payment (a realistic-looking, but bogus, certified bank check, for example) for substantially more than the quoted rate. The explanations vary. ("I miscalculated the exchange rate." "My boss is paying for the trip and she mistakenly wrote the check for the wrong amount.") You're asked to refund the overpayment quickly by processing a wire transfer -- with your own real cash.
The thief relies on the difference between the number of days required to clear a paper check or money order from a foreign country and the mere seconds required to wire money to a Western Union office anywhere in the world.
Recently, the scammers have become more sophisticated by adding a European twist. They may claim to be an Oxford professor or a Norwegian model. And they've brushed up their English. One recent letter, supposedly from an Englishman, used phrases like "in response to your advert" and "I am being posted to your area," for example.
Unfortunately for the scammer, this was followed by, "I will like to rent your Home for the period of 2 Weeks that I will be staying in the U.S." Then he concluded with, "Pls do let me know if you will accept a check as payment because that is the only means of payment my company will provide. I will be waiting for your response on this. Hope to hear from you in earnest." Doesn't quite ring true for someone claiming to be an Englishman.
Another scam letter making the rounds begins, "My name is Diane White and I am a female model from Ireland." (Why would an Irish woman named Diane think that she needs to tell you she's a "female" model?)
One way to avoid being taken, of course, is to refuse to accept any check or money order for more than the agreed upon rental charges. Just send it back and ask for a new check in the correct amount. If the prospective renter is a scammer, you'll never hear from the person again.
An even better way is to adopt a firm policy of accepting only major credit cards for payment. With credit cards, there can be no "accidental overpayment" because you're in complete control of the amount charged to the card.
If you're not currently set up to accept credits cards, take a look at the Rentors.org Credit Card Acceptance Program that's specifically designed for vacation-rental owners (see http://www.rentors.org/cc.cfm).

-- Brian and Lisa Raub, A1 Vacation Rentals
from Rentors.org News #23: Tips for Vacation Rental Homeowners

March 23, 2005 Subscribe at: www.rentors.org

In our personal experience, we've found that what the scammer writes in his or her inquiry and how it is stated is usually a dead giveaway to the bogus nature of the inquiry. Common sense should alert most recipients that it would be unwise to respond to these emails. Some of these inquiry emails border on the ridiculous and are sometimes humorous. Most people inquiring about a vacation lodging opportunity simply do not use flowery language describing their own personal situation ("I want to rent your wonderful apartment to surprise my most devoted fiance of my dreams") or give reasons for the choice of your property ("We have fallen in love with your most beautiful home"). So use caution and common sense in responding to all inquiries. Our experience has also been that in not responding to a suspicious inquiry, we've never had a second inquiry or follow-up. Just delete it!

We highly recommend insisting on a valid credit card in all cases as payment for a vacation rental. The transaction either goes through or it doesn't. Here is a recent example we received (name and email changed to protect the guilty). It looks like the same one that is mentioned in the article above. Most scammers tend to send these out by the thousands, hoping to find a victim.

Name: henry
Phone:
Email: hjones005@yahoo.com
Number of Adults: 1
Number of Children:
Property Question/s (Day - Month - Year)
Date of Arrival: 0 - 0 - 0
Date of Leave: 0 - 0 - 0
Question/s:
Hello, In response to your advert on your Home for rent.I work for Bridgestone Construction Company in Uk and my company is sending me to Us on an official assignment in June.And I am being posted to your area.I will like to rent your Home for the period of (1 Weeks) that I will be staying in Us.Pls do give me the following information. 1.A brief discription of the apartment. 2.Your price 3.The address of the apartment. Pls do let me know if you will accept a check as payment because thats is the only means of payment my company willprovide.I will be waiting for your response on this. Hope to hear from you in earnest

Here's another one that surfaced in early December, 2007. Do you see any problems here? We do! (We have omitted the sender's name and email address.) How likely is it that 4 couples would all agree that they want to honeymoon in Door County, Wisconsin in early January? Or is it 5 couples? The writer isn't clear about that. At any rate, you be the judge.

Hello.

Do get back me if you have accomodation for 4 couples coming for their honeymoon at your property,I would like you to get back to me with the
following required details..
1. The availability of the dates
2. The Daily cost for the required dates
3. The total cost for the lenght of their stay of the 5 couples.
4. Do you accept credit card payment(visa card).
The arrival date for the couples will be 1st january
departure date 5th january ,Their stay for their honeymoon will last for 5days.
Do get back to me with the requirements as stated above.

We will post future scam updates and scam alerts as they become available!

DoorCountyVacationLodging.com is a directory for vacation property for rent or sale anywhere on Wisconsin's Door Peninsula. Here you can find resort condominiums, hotels, motels, bed & breakfasts, cottages, inns, cabins, homes, and other vacation accommodations. Let this be your guide to Egg Harbor, Baileys Harbor, Sturgeon Bay, Sister Bay, Ephraim, Fish Creek, Ellison Bay, Gills Rock, Washington Island, and Jacksonport.

Whether you're looking for a place to stay, renting out your vacation property, selling your property, or considering buying a vacation property in Wisconsin's magical Door County, you are in the right place.

Scam Alert - Rental Property