Your questions

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This was published 14 years ago

Your questions

Question

We want to book an apartment to rent in New York through Craigslist. Is there any way we can be sure we are not going to be conned out of our money?

- A. Garrard, Braddon, ACT.

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Answer

The only way to be certain you are not going to be conned is to not hand over any money until you have arrived and inspected the apartment. Craigslist might be a useful resource, as evidenced by the billions of page views it gets each month, but it's really nothing more than a collection of classified advertisements.

Any transaction you complete via the site is between you and the advertiser — Craigslist does not guarantee transactions and does not offer any consumer protection.

One thing you should never do is wire any money to an overseas bank account or any sort of escrow account, as these are often used as part of scams.

If you have to pay a deposit to secure a booking, do it with a credit card, so you have the option of applying to the bank for a reversal of the transaction if you do not get what you paid for. This is a good rule when paying for anything where you do not receive the goods at time of payment.

If you have concerns about any arrangements or think something might be too good to be true, always err on the side of caution.

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One option might be to book a hotel room for the first few nights and then use Craigslist or other sources to look for an apartment when you get there.

You might have fewer apartments to choose from at short notice but you can at least ensure it is a legitimate transaction.

- JANE E. FRASER

If you have travel questions, we'd love to hear from you. Write to travelshd@fairfaxmedia.com.au. Personal correspondence cannot be entered into. Only questions appearing in print will be answered. If your question is published, you will win a Lonely Planet guidebook.

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