Attorney General’s Office Warns Delawareans About Vacation Rental Scams
Consumer Protection | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Consumer Protection | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Wednesday, April 4, 2018
With people already making summer vacation plans, the Consumer Protection Unit of the Delaware Department of Justice warns Delawareans to be careful when looking for a vacation rental. Scammers operating rental schemes find legitimate rental postings and capture the information and photos of the property, and then list it on Craigslist or other online advertising platforms. Unsuspecting consumers looking for a good deal on a vacation rental find the bogus posting, send a deposit, and receive confirmation of their rental only to arrive to find other people in the home, unable to gain access, or otherwise turned away from the property they believed they had rented.
Scams also can occur with regards to long term leases for homes or apartments, where scammers may even have changed to locks illegally on a property and allow someone to move in, even though they are not the true owner.
All consumers should be diligent before entering into any type of lease for a rental property or providing any deposit or rental payment by taking these steps first:
Consumers who believe they may have been scammed should contact their local police department and file a report. They can also call the Attorney General’s toll-free Consumer Hotline at 1-800-220-5424 or email the Consumer Protection Unit of DOJ at consumer.protection@delaware.gov. If the listing was posted on an online platform, such as Craigslist, the consumer should also file complaints with the online platform and with federal law enforcement at www.ic3.gov.
Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.
Here you can subscribe to future news updates.
Consumer Protection | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Wednesday, April 4, 2018
With people already making summer vacation plans, the Consumer Protection Unit of the Delaware Department of Justice warns Delawareans to be careful when looking for a vacation rental. Scammers operating rental schemes find legitimate rental postings and capture the information and photos of the property, and then list it on Craigslist or other online advertising platforms. Unsuspecting consumers looking for a good deal on a vacation rental find the bogus posting, send a deposit, and receive confirmation of their rental only to arrive to find other people in the home, unable to gain access, or otherwise turned away from the property they believed they had rented.
Scams also can occur with regards to long term leases for homes or apartments, where scammers may even have changed to locks illegally on a property and allow someone to move in, even though they are not the true owner.
All consumers should be diligent before entering into any type of lease for a rental property or providing any deposit or rental payment by taking these steps first:
Consumers who believe they may have been scammed should contact their local police department and file a report. They can also call the Attorney General’s toll-free Consumer Hotline at 1-800-220-5424 or email the Consumer Protection Unit of DOJ at consumer.protection@delaware.gov. If the listing was posted on an online platform, such as Craigslist, the consumer should also file complaints with the online platform and with federal law enforcement at www.ic3.gov.
Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.
Here you can subscribe to future news updates.