Downtown Rental Fraud – Avoiding Scams on Craigslist, Rocketlease and Textme

Downtown Rental Fraud – Avoiding Scams on Craigslist, Rocketlease and Textme

Los Angeles, CA (December 28, 2014)  —  Troubled anonymous advertising and communications providers Craigslist.org, Peerless Network and RocketLease appear to be associated with what may be among the largest rental fraud and identity theft operations.

craigslist fraud
When prospective Downtown Los Angeles resident Dan Juarez thought he found a deal that was too good to be true in Craigslist this past weekend, he made the smart move and looked up the real estate agent that was named in the ad.  The agent, Downtown specialist Realtor(R) Corey Chambers informed Dan that the property posted on Craigslist was unfortunately a typical fraudulent posting that is commonly found on the fraud-plagued classifieds website.

Rocketlease Fraud

Juarez thought that he found an amazing deal on a beautiful luxury loft with panoramic views at the Sky loft building between Downtown L.A.’s Financial District and South Park neighborhoods.  The property that normally leases for around $3,500 was posted for just $980 per month. The fraudsters posted a legitimate agent’s name to give a guise of legitimacy, along with an anonymous TextMe number of 213-289-6738.  The impersonated real estate agent was not involved with the posting, but immediately took action to stop the fraud that could tarnish the agent’s good name. Agent Corey Chambers was able to give the corrected property information to Mr. Juarez and several others who were astute enough to check on the suspicious ad.  It is unknown how many may have sent money or social security numbers to the scammers. At least 5 people inquired about leasing the luxury condo. Chambers informed all who called that all Craigslist postings with severely discounted properties are suspected frauds until proven otherwise.

Fraud

After investigation by the L.A. Loft Blog, it was determined that Craigslist, Rocketlease.com, Godaddy.com, Linode.com, Zendesk.com, Textme app and Peerless Network each have a hand in tacit approval of the scam.  Craigslist provides the advertising vehicle for the fraud operation. Rocketlease provides the application that accepts the victim’s private personal information to use in identity theft, including social security number.  Godaddy.com provides the domain names for the fraudsters. Zendesk and Peerless Network provide the telephone, voicemail and text lines to the perpetrators. Peerless Network seems to be the linchpin of the whole operation — worse than adding insult to injury, Peerless Networks actually profits twice from the fraud by not only providing anonymous communications, but by later charging money for legal documents that are directly related to the numerous ongoing investigations and legal actions surrounding the frauds that Peerless supports.

When notified of the issues, some promised action, but none of the companies apparently took any action whatsoever to stop the abuse.  While Craigslist blocks text and links that interfere with Craigslist’s business goals, Craigslist has chosen not to block text with links to known fraud-perpetuating websites such as rocketlease.com.  Peerless Networks may be the most abominable offender, as Peerless seems to be not only operating above the law, but profiting directly from the lawlessness by taking additional money directly from the fraud victims.

FBI IC3 Fraud Report

“The best defense we have against these fraudsters and their profiteers is to get out the truth of what they are doing and what they are profiting from,” said Corey Chambers, “any person or company involved is part of the problem unless they fight against it.”  Chambers and the L.A. Loft Blog vow to extend their investigations to provide additional evidence to authorities and to litigation plaintiffs if the responsible parties do not take appropriate actions to prevent and counter the fraud.

Anyone considering the rental of a Downtown property should only deal in person directly with the owner, manager or licensed real estate agent.  Search licensed agents at dre.ca.gov and Google.  Anything listed on Craigslist must be verified to ensure that it is not fraud. Prospective renters should not complete online applications or send payment until verifying the identity of the receiver.  Always meet in person, or at least by voice phone call to a verified phone number.  Personal information should never be sent via anonymous services such as Textme or Rocketlease.

When contacted, Pat Phipps of Peerless Network denied that Peerless Networks is associated with the offending telephone number.  Phipps also denied that Peerless Networks is also profiting from victims on its website, where it states many fees, including $250 per hour to have a supervisor produce records to victims who need to track down their victimizers.

TextMe representative Christophe Bach said that he will investigate the matter, but denied any responsibility of preventing the fraud.

Fraud-related document gallery:

Contact:
Corey Chambers, Realtor(R)
CoreyChambers.com
LAloftBlog.com
Realty Source Inc  BRE#01889449
(213) 880-9910

Downtown Los Angeles Lofts and Condos Pocket Listings – Are You Missing 45% of the Best Deals?

Unlisted Condos and Lofts For Sale Downtown LA
Private Deals Off Market

For those who are looking for awesome deals on amazing Downtown lofts and condominiums, the best deals seem to disappear quickly.  The truth is much more dramatic. The most amazing loft deals are sold privately without ever getting listed on the MLS.  In fact, nearly half of the most attractive lofts at the lowest prices sell privately to buyers who are part of a VIP program.  The good news ing that it costs nothing to become a VIP buyer.

Here is one example of a new unlisted property at Evo for sale today but not on the MLS and not listed on the internet.  Only VIP buyers now have access to the property details, photos and early viewing of these pocket listings.

Pocket Listings Downtown

This is a pocket listing for a luxury loft unit at EVO!

pocket-evo-02 pocket-evo-03

This beautiful 8th floor one bedroom at EVO in Downtown’s South Park is 840 sq ft and has a huge balcony that spans the width of the unit, unobstructed west views of Staples Center and city lights. The details, photos, pricing and early viewing are available, along with new listings delivered as part of the exclusive Downtown home matching service for VIP members.

LAcondoInfo.com provides lots of free information to help prospective Downtowners beat out other buyers to hot new listings, and to receive priority access to all new listings that math the buyer’s home buying criteria.  Find out more at LAcondoinfo.com or use the LA Loft Blog information request. Fill out the online form:

Copyright © 2014 This free information provided courtesy L.A. Loft Blog and LAcondoInfo.com with information provided by Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449 We are not necessarily associated with the home owner’s association, seller or developer. For more information, contact (213) 478-0499 or visit LAcondoInfo.com  Licensed in California. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Properties subject to prior sale or rental. This is not a solicitation if buyer or seller is already under contract with another broker.