Crime & Safety
Dearborn Man Swindled in Craigslist Apartment Scam
The following information was supplied by the Dearborn Police Department. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.
A 42-year-old Dearborn man hoping to rent an apartment in Brooklyn, NY. was swindled out of $550 after responding to a false ad on Craigslist.
According to the Dearborn Police Department, the man told officers that he responded to an ad placed online by a seller who identified himself as Bryan Riddle. Riddle told the man he was looking to rent out his apartment because he worked for Chevron and was going to be stationed for an extended period of time on an oil rig in Africa.
Riddle told the man that in order to receive the keys for the apartment, he would first have to wire $550 to an address in Nigeria. The man agreed to wire the money at 10:30 a.m. June 17.
After wiring the money to Riddle, the man received a second phone call informing him that he would have to send an additional $800. When the man became suspicious and questioned the nature of the transaction, Riddle hung up and refused to return phone calls, police said.
According to police reports, the ad on Craigslist has been removed as spam and the victim is working with Western Union to recover the money sent to the Nigerian address. The case is still under investigation.
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