Roommate Scams on Chicago Craigslist? How do I spot them? (Northbrook: apartment, for rent)

[Swisha2k]

Hello. It's me again (the Northbrook guy). Unfortunately, my housing situation has changed. So, I'm looking for a Roommate in Chicago.

Anyway long story short, I posted an ad on Craigslist (Chicago) under "rooms wanted" and got a message from an attractive female asking me to become her room-mate. She isn't asking me to send her a deposit or anything but she's is requesting that I email her back MY credit score and contact info because that is how business is done in Chicago... this looks like an obvious hustle but how can I legitimize emails?

Second, are there any local apartment/room-mate sites that you can point out? Thanks again.

[s0nginmyheart]

You could try Chicago Reader or Roommates.com

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Swisha2k

Hello. It's me again (the Northbrook guy). Unfortunately, my housing situation has changed. So, I'm looking for a Roommate in Chicago.

Anyway long story short, I posted an ad on Craigslist (Chicago) under "rooms wanted" and got a message from an attractive female asking me to become her room-mate. She isn't asking me to send her a deposit or anything but she's is requesting that I email her back MY credit score and contact info because that is how business is done in Chicago... this looks like an obvious hustle but how can I legitimize emails?

Second, are there any local apartment/room-mate sites that you can point out? Thanks again.

Your credit score would be totally worthless to her without your actual credit report and a copy of your driver's license to authenticate it. No way in hell I'd do that, especially to someone who e-mails you a picture of a Russian hooker or whatever it was that caused you to conclude "she" was attractive. If she just wants your credit score and contact info, that sounds pretty darn weird to me. I'd take a pass.

Craigslist and the Reader are hit or miss for roommates. I got a good set of roommates one year while in school from the Reader (pre-Craigslist days!), but definitely met some oddballs along the way. You've got to make sure you meet any prospective roommate in person, and not in an abandoned warehouse at 9:00 p.m. on the far southwest side either. Use common sense.

Good luck and be careful! We don't want you to end up in the trunk of a car out in an O'Hare long term parking lot.

[surlycue]

Instead of posting for a room wanted why not look in the rooms offered section? I found a large room in a great flat in Andersonville for a friend for $375

[SmartGXL]

Yes be VERY careful using Craigslist or even the Reader. CL, nowadays, is full of con artists and scammers. It is sad, because CL used to be a great site. There are several scams going on to watch out for:

1. Security Deposit scam, where someone gets access to a new construction condo, that they do not own, and shows it to prospective tenants via CL. The unit is nice and at a rediculouly low rate. They collect security deposits from mutliple applicants as well as first months rent (all in the form of cahiers checks), then you never hear from them. They run around town, cashing the cahsiers checks at local branches, getting physical currency, then skip town. usually, someone in the cosctruction biz, who helped build the condo itself, gets a set of keys and makes copies, then gives it to the fake realtor, That is how the scam starts.

2. You are a landlord and you list a unit for rent. You get calls or emails from people claiming to work in another state/country/works on a cruise line or some other reason, for which they cannot see the unit right away. They "need a place" and are willing to send you a cashiers check. But they ussually send more than they are supposed to, and ask you to wire the excess funds back to them. They are hoping that you wire the funds immediately, before you realize that the bank check is a fake.

So beware!

[linicx]

Originally Posted by surlycue

Instead of posting for a room wanted why not look in the rooms offered section? I found a large room in a great flat in Andersonville for a friend for $375