COLUMBUS, Ohio -
Ohioans looking to Craigslist for their rental home or apartment are falling prey to scams.
Craigslist is a hot spot to check out homes and apartments for rent; but for some people, their efforts to find the place they want to call home, are ending with losses.
Attorney General Mike DeWine says Ohioans are reporting losses ranging from $300 to nearly $2,000. The average reported loss is about $1,000.
Pam Copley of Columbus says she was a victim of a Craigslist scam.
Copley says she was excited to find a Bexley area home to rent through an ad she recently saw on Craigslist.
The man who posted the ad told Pam she would have the keys to the rental home with a $600 down payment. The man had told Pam that his wife was a realtor.
"We actually called ReMax, which is the one that the realtor was through, and they said yes they heard of her and yes she works there so I thought it was all legit," said Copley.
She says the man told her his family was moving to Nigeria to do ministry work.
"He texted me and said we're a Christian faithful family and God will steer us through," added Copley.
The unidentified man reluctantly won her trust and Pam wired him $600 but she tells that wasn't enough, "they even actually called my fiance' and wanted us to send them $400 more and we said no."
"He kept emailing, texting and calling and I kept telling him send us back our money. We changed our mind on the house, we don't want it," said Bill Fox, Copley's fiance'.
Together the couple called, texted and emailed the unidentified man back saying if he sent their money back, they wouldn't press charges. They say sometimes they got cursed out and other times they got hung up on.
The Ohio Attorney General's Office says rental property scams are on the rise.
"I think the tight rental market sometimes causes people throw away caution," said Attorney General Mike DeWine.
Bill and Pam say they saw the home, did some research and made calls, but still got taken. They say it could have happened a second time.
"We actually had another guy do the same thing wanted to rent us a house. He said he was in Florida," added Fox.
Pam Copley filed a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General's Office and says she'll likely file a police report too.
Attorney General DeWine says consumers should report potential scams to his office at 800-282-0515 or OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.
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