A new scam involving fake rental properties in the Brainerd Lakes Area is aimed at doing just that. And news of the rental property scam is disheartening to everyone in the local community. Local real estate agents suggest scams like these are not a new thing, no matter how new they are to the area. And they believe they’re not going to go away any time soon. But there are ways you can keep yourself protected.

Be on the lookout for Red Flags of a scam, as give to us by the Brainerd Police Department:

• Long-distance inquiries
• Requests that send a check or money order or wire funds through MoneyGram, Green Dot MoneyPak or Western Union
• Requests for personal and/or financial information
• Offers from a person who claims to be affiliated with Zillow, Craigslist, and other such websites to facilitate a home purchase, loan or rental
• Suggestions to use Craigslist for money exchanges
• Typos, grammatical errors and improper wording or context during discussions
• When selling or buying items online, requests for your bank account number, Social Security number or a code sent to your cellphone via text message or phone call are all signs of a potential scam

You are asked to report any listing found that may be a fraud to the website it was found on, as well as local authorities.

For additional information on scams such as this, click here to go to the Federal Trade Commission website.

By — Justin Prince

Sports Director in Bemidji