Police want tourists and renters to be careful of real estate scams involving vacation rentals and other properties.
Treasure Island and Gulfport have had reports of alleged real estate scams aimed at bilking visitors and renters out of money. The fraud schemes are also on the radar of the St. Petersburg Police Department, according to SPPD’s public information officer Yolanda Fernandez.
The scams usually involve ads for vacation properties and other rentals on social media platforms such as Craigslist, Fernandez said.
“It does happen – especially with the use of cash apps,” Fernandez said, referring to the peril of using PayPal or other cash payment platforms.
Gulfport had its latest reported on Dec. 28.
Gulfport police officers responded to a residence on 58th Street South near Boca Ciega High School. The property is owned by Zillow; security officers found individuals inside the home.
“It was determined that a fraudulent lease agreement had been signed by multiple victims and over the past two months; $5,394.00 has been stolen between security deposits and monthly rent paid by the victims,” according to the Gulfport Police Department’s weekly report.
In Treasure Island, police reported an alleged real estate fraud incident on Nov. 21 involving an advertisement on Craigslist for a rental property near the…
