Los Angeles Police Department West L.A. Division Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore reported that sometime between Nov. 14 and Dec. 12, somebody tricked a victim into paying rent for a property in the 17700 block of Porto Marina Way in Castellammare that he/she did not own.
On Jan. 9, at 1:30 p.m., in the 200 block of W. Channel Rd. in Santa Monica Canyon, a second victim was tricked and paid rent to someone who also did not own the property.
“One victim was from New York, the other was from Beverly Hills,” Moore said. “Both listings were done through Craigslist, and in one case the suspect was female, and in the other, the suspect was male.”
Moore said one victim, age 71, paid a total of $10,180 in several payments, but when the victim showed up the house, the person living there had no idea who had rented the property. The second victim, age 59, paid $3,500, and also surprised the owner in Santa Monica Canyon.
Moore was asked if there was anything that could be done about a fraudulent listing on Craigslist and he replied, “Unfortunately, we can only look at the actual suspects.”
Both cases are under investigation.
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