Recently a California Apartment Association Member advertised a rental unit on the Internet. Following is his account of the story:

Day 1: One potential renter responded from the United Kingdom claiming to be relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area within two weeks and he needed a place to stay urgently. His sponsoring company would send me the rent and security deposit and some extra for his expense.

Day 2 - 6: He kept on sending emails checking to see if the check had arrived. He was very nice on the phone.

Day 6: A cashier check arrived from overseas with the amount two times required.

Day 7: He sent me an email, asking for the extra amount to be remitted to his oversea location through Western Union to cover his needed airfare and relocation expense. He expressed this request in an extremely urgent manner. He called several more times urging that it be done immediately.

This was a red flag to me so I checked with the bank that issued the cashier check and learned that the check was a fake. I also noticed that the 'potential renter' called from area codes in the United States - not from overseas.

Again in mid-July I posted the same unit on line. I got the same response from a different person, also from the United Kingdom with a very similar story. Certainly, I just ignored it this time.

Editor's Note:
The California Apartment Association has received other calls from members regarding these scam attempts and some local media organizations have reported on the trend. To read other examples of this scheme, go to www.google.com and enter the search phrase "Rent Scams."