Yet another falls prey to Craigslist apartment rental scam

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Wednesday, September 17, 2014
craigslist scammer
Police say the man in this video is a suspect in a craigslist apartment rental scam on Lower East Side.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- An apartment hunter in Manhattan has fallen prey to yet another Craigslist rental scam, and police say the man seen in the video above is a person of interest in the case.

The victim, a 38-year-old male, was searching for an apartment this past August. It was then he met a man through Craigslist, who claimed to have an available rental at 178 Ludlow St., on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

The suspect showed the prospective renter the apartment on August 17th, and took receipt of $4,400, presumably the amount needed to secure the apartment. Though when the victim tried to move in, he found another individual living there.

He then learned that the suspect was neither the apartment's owner or a representative of the owner.

Police are asking for the public's help in identifying the man seen in the video above, and are urging anyone with information to contact the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.