Vacation Rental Scams-What To Be Aware Of

Have you ever agreed to go on a date with someone off of a dating website, and then found out they look nothing like they did in their picture?  Or even worse, spent the time and effort to get ready, gone to the agreed meeting place and gotten stood up.  Well, unfortunately, dating isn’t the only thing you have to be wary of on sites like Craigslist.

There are many vacation rental scams as well.  These vacation rentals are  listed and are nothing like what the pictures showed or they don’t actually exist.  The scammers often use photo’s they have copied from the internet.  They will then have you wire money into their account for your deposit.  You could arrive to find out that the place doesn’t look anything like what you paid for, or that the person you paid the money to doesn’t actually own the property, or even worse that the rental doesn’t exist at all.  NEVER wire money to someone.  It is very easy to pay with Paypal now, and at least you have some protection that way.  Or go through a more established rental site, such as Paradise Hunter or Airbnb.

And as far as those God-awful dates go?  Sorry, you’re on your own on that one.  Take an extra twenty and splurge on a bottle of wine.  You’re gonna need it.