Renting a place on the coast this summer? Before you hand over that cash, better be sure the place actually exists.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office believes there is a scam artist working Lincoln County who has cheated as many as two dozen would-be vacationers out of thousands of dollars.
In an effort to put a stop to the problem, police are interested in talking to a woman they believe may know about the case and who is using several names. Among the names is Star Hernandez, and Detective Quentin Bendel said he is getting so many calls about her, “I can’t keep up with the cases.”
The first hint of trouble came when Melissa Sauther called police to report that Hernandez, whom she met through Craigslist, had offered to rent her a home in Salishan: three stories, five bedrooms, three baths, a hot tub, an elevator and views. All for $250 a night and over the Fourth of July weekend at that. Only catch, she wanted $800 upfront and by wire transfer only.
It just sounded too good to be true, so Sauther, 39, of Spokane, started doing some digging. She persuaded Hernandez to give her the address, then tracked the out-of-state owner and left a message.
“She called me back and said, ‘What are you talking about? My house is definitely not for rent.’ ”
Since Sauther reported the attempted scam several months ago, Bendel said the calls regarding similar cases have been endless.
Not everyone has been as careful as Sauther.
Earlier this summer, Carole Barkhurst, executive director of the Depoe Bay Chamber of Commerce, took a call from an older woman who had rented a house in Gleneden Beach.
“It turned out it didn’t exist,” said Barkhurst. “She had paid cash. $2,200. I really felt bad for her.”
Two other would-be renters, one from California, the other from Arizona, called Barkhurst in the same week to confirm the legitimacy of a house Hernandez had offered them. It also did not exist.
“We are told she was working as cleaning lady. That’s how she was getting into the house. Then she takes pictures and puts them on Craigslist and posts the pictures with addresses she makes up.”
Hernandez also goes by the names of Star Cady, Estrella Maria Garcia and Marie Miller and advertises the rentals at the Web site hot-vacation-spots.webs.com, Bendel said.
His advice: “If you can’t see the person or talk to the person, don’t do it.”
Barkhurst cautions against using Craigslist for vacation rentals. Instead, she says, “Deal with reputable long-standing companies. We have really good companies that have been around a long time. We know how to find them.”
