How to Spot a Vacation Rental Scam Inquiry 

The vacation rental business is much like that of Craigslist or eBay — a customer is giving you money up front for a good or service (a stay in your second home). It's important that you protect yourself when doing business with vacation rental customers in the same manner just like you would when buying or selling a couch on Craigslist or an antique clock on eBay. Here's Craigslist's warning: "Avoid scams & fraud by dealing locally! Beware any deal involving Western Union, Moneygram, wire transfer, cashier check, money order, shipping, escrow, or any promise of transaction protection/certification/guarantee."

10 Common Scammer Red Flags

The following are common traits of the scammers who send fraudulent inquiries to vacation rental owners. While legitimate travelers can also share some of these characteristics. An inquiry containing any of these things should put you on red alert:

1. Demonstrates a poor grasp of spelling, grammar, capitalization and punctuation.
2. Uses a free online email service like Hotmail, Yahoo! or Gmail.
3. Gives you way more information than the typical traveler.
4. Is a religious figure, sea captain, doctor or officer in the armed forces.
5. Wants to arrange a surprise trip for someone else (like a godson).
6. Wants to pay by certified check, cashier's check or unsecured wire transfer.
7. Offers to pay you more than your stated rate.
8. Can't keep their own name straight within the inquiry (e.g. refers to themselves in places as John Smith, other times as Smith Jones.)
9. Refers to your home improperly in the body of the inquiry (e.g.. asks about your lovely apartment when you own a cabin.)
10. Gives you an uneasy feeling in your gut that something isn't quite right.

An Example of a Scam Inquiry:

"Name: Tajudeen olatunji
E-mail: tajudeen_olatunji@yahoo.com
Tel: 234 08058042348
Arrival date: 10/2/2006a
Departure date: 1/3/2007
Total no in party: 4 (including children)
No of children: 2
Further info:
Hello, i here here by use the medium to negotiate your advertised apartment which will serve a temporary residence for a little while i will spend in you domain am a business man and i already have a contract which i will have to execute lessurely. my company have issued a cheque to me in agreement that i will be booking hotel,but since i will be coming over with my wife and my 2 kids i will need a spacios apartment just like the very advertised one. i want you to get back to me fast so we can negotiate on payment.i wouldn't mind to pay now so i can be rest minded thet i have a place ready."

This is a typical scam. What they will do is book your vacation home and send you a cashier's check for an amount over the rental amount. They will then ask you cash it and to send the balance to someone. The problem is the check. Although it looks authentic, it's fake!

How to Handle an Obvious Scam Inquiry

If you get an inquiry that looks like this, the first thing you should do is forward the inquiry to the customer support team. Don't click the “This is Spam” button in your email. This could make all your inquiries go into your junk folder, or, even worse, get blocked altogether. The next thing to do is press your “delete” button. Whatever you do, do not reply! Once you reply, they have your email address and will continue sending you more.

What to Do if You're Not Quite Sure an Inquiry is a Scam

If an inquiry is a little fishy, but could be legitimate, go ahead and reply, but keep your antennae up. Watch for the signs listed above. Does the renter want to pay by certified check? Do they want to send you more money than your listed rate? Do they balk at the idea of paying by credit card? Here are a couple ways you could do some additional investigation:

• Do some Internet sleuthing.
• Talk to the traveler on the phone.
• Only accept payment by credit card or PayPal, the safest ways for both homeowner and traveler to handle payments.
• Trust your gut