Rental Scam!

Hey! Somebody tried to scam me on Craigslist (shocking, I know!).

The Hubby and I are toying with the idea of moving into a bigger apartment so I browsed around on Craigslist and sent out a few emails. One response was WAY to good to be true (i.e. too cheap for what was offered). Other red flags were that she said she was in the UK and that there was no one who could show me the place. I sent back a note with some benign comments and got back this:

Before going further with anything I must tell you that for payments I will use the eBay Company, they will secure the transaction of payments. I will open a CASE ID# at eBay Company for this transaction and I will give them your full name, shipping info, phone# and indicate you as my tenant. After that, they will contact you with the payment details, and they will ask you to send them a refundable deposit, $1,400.00 in 24 hours(the money will be for the first month of rent + the security deposit). After they receive your deposit, they will notify me immediately to start the shipping of the keys and the contract. You will receive a  tracking number in max 24 hours after they receive your deposit. The keys will reach to you in 3-4 days. After you’ll receive the keys and the contract, the 14 days of inspection period will start (you’ll have 14 days to see the condo, read the contract, decide if you keep the condo or not). After the inspection you will contact them and tell your decision: TAKE THE CONDO or NOT TAKE THE CONDO! In case you’ll take it you’ll have to send them a copy of the contract signed by you and they will release the money to me, if not you’ll have to send them the contract unsigned and they will refund your money($1,400.00), the contract and the keys will be shipped back at my expenses! I will pay the shipping and you’ll have to pay the money transfer fee for the refundable deposit.

Craigslist Fraud FAQ suggests reporting scams to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center. All I have are the emails from this person. Do you guys have any suggestions for other places to report this to in Minnesota or to the federal government? I haven’t lost any money, but if the information I have can help identify a scam or apprehend a criminal I’m game to share that.

Rental Scam!
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