News

Actions

Scammers targeting beach house renters

Posted at 6:26 PM, May 14, 2012
and last updated 2012-05-14 19:07:56-04

If you're scouting out a beach-side vacation house... beware.

Virginia Beach police say this is the time of year when they start seeing a rise in rental scams on Craigslist.

Police say a popular one right now is someone pretending to be the owner of a beachfront home that's already occupied by someone else.

Police say the department fields about five calls a week from victims of Craigslist rental scam. They are urging renters to use credit cards, avoid electronic money transfers and beware of rentals advertised at a steep discount.

Craigslist has a similar set of warnings on its home page.