Scott, you have a really bad attitude.  None of what you say here has any merit.  What makes you think the way you do?  I hope at some point your jaded persona will fade and you'll find some joy in life.  Certainly happy I'm not a person in your realm.

Scott posted 3/31/09 at 10:03 AM  

Probably need to ignore Scott . . . .what an irresponsible comment!!

Sounds like he may gave come out feet first!

I work in a law firm where we work with several government agencies to prosecute the bad guys and return funds to investors. I have dealt with scams from mail fraud to ponzi schemes to plain investment scams for tens of millions of dollars. We have worked for the SEC, US Marshalls, FBI, US Postal Service and several different state attorney's offices. In my decade of doing this there are several infallible truths...

1) Greed blinds

2) Ignorance is bliss till it bites you and most importantly

3) If it is too good to be true...it is...or it at least isnt worth the risk

Some basic hints: Any promised rate of return 2 or 3 percent more than prime... walk away. And even then, 2 or 3 percent more is HIGH. I've dealt with people who were promised 180 - 300% annual returns...and they wonder. NEVER wire money to someone you don't know. And finally, just because it is written, doesn't make it so. Guarantees and warrantees always come down in value to be about as  much as the paper they are written on.

Looks like John Doe and mb are another couple of losers. I'm guessin' IQ's below 50. Maybe not even that high!!Wonder how many more failures there are out there?

The NAR is a scam!  They are extortionists.  This rental scam is a shame, but the NAR would take any opportunity to scare you out of renting.  Let's keep these Realtors in business with their exorbinant commissions.  I hope this crisis and the internet causes the entire real estate industry to re-structure.

Craigslist is a joke... and I cannot believe someone would send money to someone with this unbelievable story about them living in the UK doing missionary work..

I was targeted by this Craigslist scam. I hate it, its worthless if you cannot track where the ad came from or who put it up.

These scammers need to be taught a lesson!

There have been scammers almost as long as there have been people. It really is a shame that some do not make an honest effort to make an honest living. What they do is prey on peoples hopes and dreams and greed for more and more. Except for what the Lord has promised us, if it seems too good to be true, it isn't true. Christians are not promised that they will have immediate wealth, they are promised that they will be persecuted by many for their belief and faith. Although it is ok to have material wealth in this world, how we get it and what we do with it is much more important. If we lie to, cheat, steal from and yes, even kill people to obtain  material wealth, then it will not last long. Should such ill-gotten gains last through our lifetime, we still cannot take it with us, it will belong to someone else. Ultimately, it belongs to God and we have just been able to use it for awhile. So don't let these ones that promise you the world fool you. I worked as a machine set-up/operator in manufacturing for many years. One thing that you do if someone tells you that that have set up a machine to do a job is to check to see if the machine is properly set up. If you take someone else's word and it is wrong, you are responsible for the mistakes made. Always look before you leap is another way to put it and this rule applies to business transactions as well. Always be sure that it is right because, if it is wrong, you take the fall. Don't let smooth talkers and fantastic promises get you into a mess.

Anyone who is dumb enough to deal, in any way, with some bozo over the internet and wire funds to them in another country about a dwelling, or anything of any kind for that matter, deserves to get swindled.  My god, what are people thinking?  As for the realtors of the world, I find myself chuckling at the people defending them(selves). Can you tell me one other occupation that involves so little work for so much monetary gain?  Wall Street's got nothin on these swindlers and now the WORLD is infested by them.  Pretty soon, we'll be seeing listings for moon property by them to drum up biz.  I don't understand how it is that in this horrible state of the economy and people losing their homes, that absolutely nothing is being said about realtors and the way they encouraged/proliferated the ballooning of the US real estate market. I was told by one realtor a few years back "Well, that's whatcha gotta pay, cause that's where the market is at and heading"(needless to say, I wisely didn't fall for her BS) ....She must not have seen the cliff right in front of her blinded by greed eyes!     By the way, all you people out there who have lost your homes because you were forced into bad loans(yeah, right!) by those all the suddenly turned "Predatory lenders"(they held a gun to your head, right?), ask yourself this......Did your realtor(or seller's realtor), who made big money off you in the paper-pushing transaction, come and offer help of any kind to you when you lost your job and got into default trouble?   I can answer for 100% of you out there....."NOPE!.....They were long gone with your money, laughing all the way to the bank".  Realtors have driven a wedge between the traditional buyer/seller relationship and comfortably massaged themselves into a niche they found to exploit in the real estate market by using scare tactics of "you NEED us to handle your transactions so you don't get sued, blah, blah, blah".   Whatever happened to two people getting together and transacting on a property like it should be done?    I love the new commercials out in the media today from the National Association of realtors saying that "The time is right to buy a home....Home prices will never be lower....Don't wait or you'll get screwed, etc., etc.".........hahahaha.......oh my god, the sky is falling and we need more business(boohoo)....buy some homes...PLEASE!!!!!   Hahahahahaha     The NAR is just as big a swinder org as any in the world now.  Take a close look at what they do and their "tactics" and the truth will be revealed.  Do you think they don't have "lobbyists" who have contributed to the crash of the economy via Washington?  Open up your eyes, people!!!!!

It's unfortunate that people would think of sendig money for renting a house to some one they have never met, muchless over sea's.  I have been a Realtor for 25 years and have met or read about some Realtors who have engage in un ethical behaviour, however, Realtors in the US are held to a very strict code of ethics and are regulated by by their several States; the intent on protecting consumers. To compare Realtors to unethica, unscrupulous  wall street cheat and swindlers, is quit a stretch.  

Good for you Rhonda! Scott, I think you need a trip to the wood shed! You can keep your mouth shut and nice folks can assume that you are an idiot or you can type on the internet and prove it! DON'T SEND MONEY TO ANYONE AT ANYTIME BEFORE CHECKING EVERYTHING OUT TWICE! IF YOU WANT TO GIVE YOUR CASH TO SOMEONE TRY THE PEACE CORP OR THE CHURCH!