After advertising for several months we finally got our first scammer. Luckily I saw the scam a mile away and was able to enjoy toying with the poor sap. It started as most internet/CraigsList scams. We received a horribly written email asking to stay at our house for a week. Unfortunately the dates they selected we’re not available. I was surprised when I received a response back asking me to quote any week. At this point I knew it was a scam however I wanted a scam trophy  So I quoted the scammer the next available week. Within minutes I received a message back asking for my address so they could mail me a check. I gave them my PO Box and Paypal instructions in case they wanted to pay quicker. I received another message indicating they needed a street address in order to ensure the check was received. I informed him that I only had a PO Box. At this point in the scam my wife was irritated by all the messages and wanted me to stop. So I sent a message indicating that I knew it was a scam and I was bored. Surprisingly he responded with a message saying he was trying to protect his image. Soon after that message I added the scammer to my block list.

The following work day I came home to a FedEx package at the door. I order quite a bit from Amazon so I wasn’t terribly surprised to see another package. However inside the package was a check made out to me for $1200 more than the quote I sent the scammer. The front of the check looked incredibly fake. There were no security measures, no color at all, and had obviously been printed at someones house.

Since that encounter I have received several more emails from scammers. What I’ve found is they always ask about a specific date range in the initial email but follow up with something along the lines of any other week. Who plans a vacation around the house they are trying to rent?!