Tom Kelly: Six tips to a safe spring break rental

Spring break is right around the corner. While the
Internet has made finding vacation properties faster,
easier and cheaper but not everyone is looking to relax at
a charming seaside cottage or a rustic mountain cabin.

Some scam artists have been copying and pasting photos
and details of popular destination properties on rental
sites, charging unknowing customers large down payments
(sometimes half of the entire rental period) and then
running off with the cash.

Several recent cases of international rental properties
not being available – or booked to more than one customer
for the same period – have owners and longtime operators
warning consumers to be wary of deals that look too good
to be true.

“There are many wonderful rental properties out there
that are completely legitimate and only a few scammers,”
said Christine Karpinski, author of How to Rent Vacation
Properties by Owner. “To reject the whole concept of
renting a great home instead of a hotel room because
someone else had a bad experience is like deciding not to
have children because you saw the movie The Bad
Seed.”

One owner “Barbara” who specializes in international
properties said four clients were scammed earlier this
year when they booked waterfront Caribbean properties.
Barbara found out later that crooks based in Nigeria
hacked into her email system and diverted the reservation
to another location.

“Most of the time, people can spot when something is
wrong if they pay attention to the communication they are
receiving,” Barbara said. “The bad guys mostly have been
tracked to foreign countries and their use of the English
language has not been good. Also, call the phone number
provided. It’s not uncommon that it’s disconnected or goes
unanswered.”

Scammers often use the fastest available method to post
a bogus listing, which means they usually never build
websites that appear legitimate.

“Craigslist is terrific, especially for long-term
rentals,” Barbara said. “But unfortunately it’s one of the
first places scammers go because they can get in and get
out. Of course the Craiglist people are doing all they can
to prevent this, but stuff gets through. It’s just another
reminder to do all you can to speak with the owner.”

Karpinski said the benefits of staying in a vacation
rental home far outweigh the minimal risks. These
properties are more spacious and often less expensive than
hotel rooms. They’re appointed with all the comforts of
your home.They’re private. They tend to be kid friendly.
Often, they’re pet friendly as well.

Her top tips to safely book your vacation home:

• Beware of super-cheap rates. If it seems too good to
  be true, it probably is. The most common way scammers work
  is by enticing a large number of travelers in a short
  period of time. They do this by low-balling the rental
  rates.
  “If one listing is, say, half the price of all other
  comparable ones for the same amount of time, beware,”
  Karpinski said. “Put yourself in the owner’s shoes: Why
  would he or she voluntarily forgo that much income? Five,
  ten, or maybe even fifteen percent off, perhaps, but fifty
  percent? No way.”
• Cyber-stalk the owner. Do some cross-referencing
  across various websites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and
  so forth. Make sure the place of residence (where the
  owner lives – not where the vacation home is located) is
  the same as the information the owner provided. Google the
  phone number listed on the advertisement. Many property
  owners and managers list their homes on many different
  websites. Check to see if they are the same.
• Look for clues in the reviews. When you are reading
  the reviews of the property (either on the vacation rental
  website or on other sites such as TripAdvisor.com), there
  are sometimes references to the owners’ names. A review
  might say something like: “Thanks, Tom and Christine, for
  allowing us to rent your lovely home…” If the names in
  the reviews do not match the name of the person renting
  the home to you, it could be a sign that something is not
  right.
• Speak with the owner via phone. Sure, it’s possible to
  be scammed over the phone. However, it’s usually easier to
  fool someone when you’re communicating online. Ask
  specific questions and listen carefully to the answers.
• Pay only by credit card. Never, ever pay by wire
  transfer.
• Most importantly, listen to your gut because it’s
  usually right.
  “There was a couple on a national TV show that said they
  went ahead with the rental even thought it didn’t feel
  right,” Karpinski said. “What’s up with that? Scammers
  usually count on people not paying attention, not heeding
  their intuition . . .

“Renting a vacation home is like anything else. It’s
not risk-free, but when you take steps to mitigate the
risk, you can feel 99.9 percent confident that you’re not
getting scammed.”

Tom Kelly’s new E-book “Bargains Beyond the Border: Get Past the
Blood and Drugs: Mexico’s Lower Cost of Living Can Avert a
Tearful Retirement” is available online at Apple’s
iBookstore, Amazon.com, Sony’s Reader Store, Barnes &
Noble, Kobo, Borders Books, Diesel eBook Store, and Google
Editions. It mirrors a recent article by CNN on the
benefits of the country, including increased rental
possibilities