Sheboygan, WI (WHBL) – She’s out of more than a thousand dollars.
-And to make matters worse, it was the “Nice Little Old Lady” scheme that bilked a Racine woman out of more than $1,300.00 in a years-old Craigslist scam.
The victim, who will only be identified as Sarah for the purpose of this story, is choosing to share her account publicly in hopes of helping to keep others from being taken for the same ride. Even Sarah can’t believe that she fell victim to an online scam that has been highly publicized over the years in both consumer protection warnings and news reports. “I always thought, no -I would never fall for something like that. I could never be duped by something like that. Unfortunately I was,” Sarah says.
More commonly, law enforcement agencies issue warnings of the scam whenever there appears to be an uptick in local activity. That was the case earlier this week when the Sheboygan Police Department issued a Nixel alert to warn area residents of new activity targeting people who are seeking housing on Craigslist.
Here’s how it works.
Criminals copy legitimate housing listings that are posted online, then re-post those listings on Craigslist as rentals – for typically well below market value. Then, when non-suspecting individuals express interest in the property, the scammer demands that money be submitted up front. In most cases, the money is either wired, or paid through some other instant transaction.
In this case, Sarah purchased a MoneyGram money order, eager to land a spot for herself and her pets. “I answered an ad for a home for rent. I have three dogs and three cats.” She found a home at 2328 Kroos Ct. in Sheboygan, posted on Craigslist.
Sarah prides herself on being nobody’s fool. But, she acknowledges being fooled after temporarily letting her guard down, which is all it takes.
It was the perfect storm.
To be clear, it should be noted that Sarah owns a home in Racine where she lost her job on October 2nd. By October 12th, Sarah was hired for a new job in Sheboygan and moved in with her parents in order to start the new job, and avoid the daily commute between Racine and Sheboygan.
From day one, Sarah says, staying with her parents was never intended to be a long-term solution to an arduous commute. Her goal was to find an affordable rental in Sheboygan, and return to Racine on the weekends. That’s what Sarah says made a particular Craigslist ad stand out.
“The person on the other line identified herself as Teresa Ruiz and said I’ve got this home for $600 a month and that includes utilities, and I’m going to allow your dogs there. It’s got a garage and a fenced-in yard…I should’ve known it was too good to be true,” Sarah laments.
“We talked back and forth and she sent me some pictures,” she says.
Anxious to secure the great deal before the next desperate renter could catch a whiff of the bargain, Sarah checked out the property on her own.
“I went to the house and peaked in the Windows and said all right I will do it. We MoneyGram’d her $1300 for the deposit and first month’s rent. Then, she said she wanted another $700 for repairs on the house and I said no, I don’t have another $700 I can’t do that. We went back and forth with that, and then finally I said I’m done, I want my money back. She said no, I’m sorry it doesn’t work that way, and that was that.”
Sarah reported the scam to Sheboygan police which has launched an investigation.
In the meantime, Sarah launched an investigation of her own, going back to the house where this time, she noticed the legitimate realty listing for the home. It turns out, the house is for sale. Sarah contacted the realtor, Julie Kath, and informed her of the bogus Craigslist ad.
Kath, who also serves on the Sheboygan Common Council, is working with Sarah and Sheboygan police in their investigation. They are all hoping that something will pop up in the paper trail that will lead investigators to the woman behind this latest scam.
Until then, Sarah is struggling to recoup her losses but wants to keep other renters from losing out, like she did, noting the scam using the same house continues.
“I really don’t have much unless we find the person. They have relisted the house on craigslist twice now. The first time the detective spoke to Craigslist and they took it down. The second time I contacted craigslist and they took it down.”
Sarah admits that in hindsight, there were tell-tale signs of a scam like the fact that 100 percent of the communication between she and the scammer was via email, both before and after she sent the money.