Risks of renting Miami Beach furnished rental from a free classified site

Craigslist and similar sites like Backpage have changed the way people shop and look for jobs. These free classifieds sites allow people to post advertisements anonymously, protecting them from criminals and scammers who answer their ads. Unfortunately, the anonymity is a double-edged sword and can also hide scammers who use the ads to perpetuate fraud.

The use of classifieds sites like Craigslist by businesses in the tourism industry has greatly increased over the last five years. Anxious to find tourists looking for furnished apartments in Miami Beach and other types of Miami lodging facilities, licensed extended stay operators and licensed owners of extended stay properties post ads on Craigslist to spread the word about the deals that they offer. Unfortunately, unlicensed operators and owners may also place ads for vacation homes and furnished apartments in Miami Beach, and it is usually not clear from the ads that these people are not legally allowed to rent their homes and units. This makes it important to ask questions and do research into all operators and owners prior to entering into a rental agreement.

In addition to licensed and unlicensed operators, there are also outright scam artists offering Miami lodging facilities on Craigslist and other classifieds sites. These individuals have elaborate systems in place to fool tourists like you into believing that they own vacation homes, condominiums and other extended stay properties, when in actuality, they do not. These scammers take photographs of real properties and pass them off as their own to build trust. Then, they request a down payment from those who contact them. Usually, they ask for wire transfers, as these are difficult to trace. Once victims issue payments, the scam artists typically vanish with the money. Sometimes, though, they continue the charade to get the final payment and provide tourists with phony instructions about how to obtain keys to their properties on arrival.

Because of the large amount of fraud that occurs on Craigslist and similar sites, we recommend that you avoid using them to make arrangements for your Miami vacation. If you do use Craigslist, follow up by asking for the business or owner's official website and conduct research of your own. Also ask for lists of previous guests that you can contact for references. Taking the extra time to verify owners and operators can prevent you from becoming a victim of a Miami vacation rental scam.