real estate agent, going through a rental agency, etc. Consider additional methods for obtaining a rental, i.e.Visit – the only authorized website for free credit reports. Federal law requires each of the three major credit reporting agencies to give you a free credit report-at your request-each year. Do not provide copies of personal information, like driver’s license, social security, bank account, or credit card numbers.Be suspicious if you’re asked to use a wire transfer service.Research the average rental rates in that area and be suspicious if the rate is significantly lower.If they don’t ask for an application or permission to check your credit, it is a red flag!.It’s important to double check that they are who they say they are. Use reverse directory look up if the person has given you their telephone number.You can add the words “fraud” or “scam” at the end of your search terms. Use a browser to search for the landlord’s name. Ask to see the potential landlord’s ID – record all the information you can from it.Here are some helpful tips for spotting and avoiding apartment scams: If you are talking to strangers on the phone or online, they may not be who they say they are.The IRS will never threaten to immediately arrest you.No government agency or police department will demand to be paid in gift cards of any kind.Never give out personal information over the phone or online unless you are positive you are speaking to the company or entity you are expecting or you initiated the call.In order to protect yourself from phone and online scams, the MIT Police encourage you to follow these tips: Once that money is gone, it’s gone for good. Once the prospective tenant fills out a rental application, scammers will request deposit money to be wired to a bank account. This scam typically involves a prospective tenant looking for rental properties, and are told by the “landlord” via email that they are overseas or away and have to conduct the rental process remotely. The scammer tries to get money from a prospective tenant for an apartment that the scammer is in no legal position to rent. This allows the criminals to use the gift card without ever having physical possession of it. The perpetrators then demand the victims read the numbers off the cards to the perpetrators over the phone. Then the perpetrators tell the victims to purchase gift cards, usually amounting to thousands of dollars. The perpetrators tell the victims that they owe thousands of dollars in taxes and will be arrested if they do not pay immediately. Victims report receiving calls from people pretending to be IRS tax employees or police officers who are threatening to arrest them.
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