Sonoma Management spots scam

A family recently stopped by Sonoma Management to pick up the key for their rental, but the staff checked and found no records. They were just one victim of a vacation rental scam that Tiffany Knef of Sonoma Management has started seeing more often.
The scammers will copy legitimate rental listings and download the photos, then repost the listing on Craigslist at a much lower price. The would-be vacationers wire money, then never receive the key.
Knef has started patrolling Craigslist and flagging scurrilous posts. “It’s really heart-breaking,” said Knef. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. People just need to use caution.”
She recommends that people watch out for any case where the person won’t provide a phone number, only has a free e-mail account like Gmail or Yahoo that is untraceable or balks when renters ask to visit the property in advance. She said many of the scammers claim they don’t live locally or even in the U.S.