205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
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Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
Kittitas County, WA - 12/29/2016 - Citizens should be wary of a recent internet-based scam involving the fraudulent advertising of rental properties.
In this scam, the suspect locates pictures of a property on-line, most often from the real estate web-page of a property that is listed for sale or has recently been sold. These pictures are then placed in a Craigslist ad for the “rental” of the property. The name of the legitimate owner may also appear in the ad. The phone number and email addresses provided for contact in these ads are internet based and their origins have been traced to out-of-country locations. When contacted, the suspects provide false information about the availability of the properties and fraudulent contracts requiring the scam’s victims to deposit money for first month’s rent, last month’s rent, and damage deposit into bank accounts. These accounts are then emptied out and closed.
To protect yourself from fraud, deal directly with the person that you rent any property from, and be suspicious of a refusal to provide an in-person examination of the property. If you have concerns about a property, contact Law Enforcement. In several locally identified cases, the telephone number 509-731-3451 is used, though various names and email addresses are given. If you see a Craigslist ad using this telephone number, please report it to Law Enforcement.
Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us
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Contact: Clayton Myrs - Undersheriffclay.myers@co.Kittitas.wa.us509-925-8534