A SCAM WARNING: Just in time for spring break
Destin visitors could fall victim to fake companies who offer accommodations that aren't their own
Get checked in, find some sand and a view of the Gulf. There’s no higher priority for vacationers in Destin.
The last thing travelers should have to consider is whether or not they have fallen victim to a scheme that has left them without accommodations.
But Destin rental company Carter Beach Properties, Inc. experienced just such a scam recently, when a customer attempting to rent through Carter came across phony postings on another vacation rental Web site.
The fraudulent poster took photos from the Carter Web site, claimed to be the owner of the units and attempted to accept money for the rental, giving contact information in New York, Fort Lauderdale and a phony address in Destin on Airport Road. The site even advertised the fake company as one of the largest rental property operators in the area.
“I’m hoping that no renters show up who have booked through these guys,” said Carter Beach Properties owner Jeanne Carter.
The creator of the fake agency even had been communicating back and forth with rental prospects and the postings stayed up until a Carter representative contacted the operators of the Web sites containing the false listings. All of the posts were removed from six separate sites.
“The people I’ve spoken with who have encountered this were very angry,” said Carter. “The terms of their agreement asked for a lot of personal information.”
The Better Business Bureau addressed the issue on a national level in the last year, warning businesses about a scam that has occurred many times on Craigslist.
“With some of the new technology, this sort of thing is very easy,” said Better Business Bureau communications director Karen Szulczewski. “Sometimes the scam Web site looks better than the real thing. Just do your homework. There are so many safer ways. Once you wire the money, it is gone. There is more protection with a credit card. If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.”
Locally, there have been few, if any problems with rental fraud outside of Carter’s case.
“No one has filed anything officially,” said Okaloosa County Sheriff Department public information officer Michele Nicholson. “Though, something was sent to us about six months ago warning us about it.”
To read more about fraud prevention for vacation rentals visit blog.rentalseal.com or see the Better Business Bureau’s article by clicking here.
“This scam may have gone on for a longer period of time if not for the fact that potential customers found Carter Beach Properties and contacted us to ascertain … if this was a legitimate offer,” said Carter.
