HOLMES BEACH – Investigations are ongoing in at least three cases of rental fraud that have occurred in the last month.
The vacation rentals were rented out without the owner’s or property management company’s knowledge or consent and the funds for the rentals were transferred to a party that doesn’t represent the owner. Visitors arrived only to find out that they really didn’t have a booking at the property they thought they’d reserved.
Now Holmes Beach police officers are warning rental owners to be on the lookout for any fraudulent advertisements for their properties, and are warning visitors to be careful how they book their next vacation.
The first instance was reported to HBPD on May 21, when officers responded to 309-A 58th St., where renters were occupying a property that had not been rented through the owner, Jerry McBrayer, or Island Vacation Properties, the company that manages the vacation rental.
McBrayer said that he went to the property to do some work while the property was unoccupied during the COVID-19 shutdown and was surprised to find people staying there. After calling Island Vacation Properties to confirm that the property was supposed to be unoccupied, the police were called and, according to the police report, the renters were packing to leave when officers arrived on the scene.
The renter, Danielle Skinner, said that she had paid a total of $1,080 to rent the property through Cashapp after finding an advertisement for the rental on Craigslist. She said throughout correspondence the correct names were used for the owner and she never thought it was a fraudulent transaction. Upon arrival at the rental, Skinner told police that the code to unlock the door of the unit that she had received was incorrect. She called Island Vacation Properties as their sign was in front of the rental and was mistakenly given the correct code through an answering service. She and the rest of her party had been staying at the property since May 18.
Also on May 21, one rental owner got in front of a fraudulent post advertising his property when a phone call alerted him to the issue. Cameron Simmons, who lives in Ontario and owns a property that he and his wife rent long term at 449 63rd St., found out that his property was being fraudulently advertised on Craigslist without his knowledge using information from his VRBO advertisement. Simmons told police that he received an email and a phone call about the post and attempted to have the Craigslist post taken down without success.
Massachusetts resident Karen Johnson told HBPD officers May 24 that she was halfway to Holmes Beach before she started feeling that something was wrong with her rental transaction. Johnson said that she found an ad on Craigslist for 119 52nd St. She sent an $800 deposit for the rental through Zelle and said that communication with the man she rented the property from, Douglas King, broke down when she was halfway to Florida, with him refusing to respond to multiple messages. Johnson contacted HBPD, telling them that King said he lives at 113 31st St. in Holmes Beach, which turned out to be a professionally managed vacation rental property.
Chief Bill Tokajer said that rental property owners and managers can help protect their properties and potential visitors from fraud by periodically searching their property’s address online to see if any advertisements they don’t recognize come up.
Tokajer said that visitors to the area can help to protect themselves by only renting vacation rentals through reputable companies and paying special attention to any advertisements on Craigslist. A good way to determine if a potential transaction is fraudulent, he said, is by how the person renting the property asks for payment. Red flags include having to send money by wire transfer, only using one certain type of credit card or through a prepaid card like Green Dot. Another red flag is a strange PayPal account associated with the payment or using other cash transfer apps. The amount of the rental also could be a red flag. If a deal on a marketplace site like Craigslist looks too good to be true, it very well might be. Research prices in the area for similar rentals to determine if it seems like the amount advertised is on par with what similar units are renting for.
Visitors should also pay close attention to the rental agreement they receive. A fraudulent rental agreement was shared with The Sun that lists an invalid company and contact information for the owner, has multiple spelling and spacing errors and doesn’t list the address of the property being rented. The occupancy listed also is above the maximum legally allowable limit of two people per bedroom or six people, whichever is greater, and no vacation rental certificate number is provided. The owner’s name and signature also don’t match.
If you think you have been a victim of fraud or your property is being advertised without your consent, contact the HBPD at 941-708-2677.
