What's happening: Week of Feb. 19, 2015

Siesta Key property target of Craigslist scam
After 15 years of condo living in Siesta Key, Joel Fried was ready for the next step: buying a home on Siesta. What he wasn’t ready for, however, were strangers knocking on his door asking to see the rental property where they had paid to stay.

Since Fried bought his home in spring 2014, his property has been a consistent target of a Craigslist vacation rental scam. It began happening while his contractor was renovating the property.

Fried found an ad listing his property for rent on Craigslist. He flagged the ad, but it appeared again a few weeks later.

Some interested visitors had contacted the ad poster, who used the name “Johnson Woodford.” One potential renter called Judy Berger, the agent with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty who sold the home, to confirm it was a rental — the scammer had used the photos and information on Fried’s property from the listing agent’s website. The renter was getting ready to deposit $2,500 into the scammer’s Bank of America account before they learned it was a scam.

Wendy Rose, spokeswoman for the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, said the victims of the scam need to contact their local law enforcement and the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

What's the buzz?
The Florida Department of Transportation has unveiled a proposal for yet another roundabout in Sarasota County — this time at a main intersection on Siesta Key.

Siesta Key Association members weren’t sold on FDOT’s plans at the intersection of Midnight Pass Road and Beach Road. Our readers were split on social media.

Social stats
Likes: 11
Shares: 1
Comments: 20

“I’ve never been a fan of roundabouts. Too many people use them improperly and they are accident prone.”
Nathan Bruneau

“The lights are fine, absolutely no need to waste money to change from one system to another.”
Stewart Green

“Roundabout is the only way, you can’t go wrong with this simple design.”
Justin Harris

BY THE NUMBERS
$20,753.53 - monetary contributions to City Commission candidates Eileen Walsh Normile and Matt Wooddall through Jan. 31

$15,441 - monetary contributions to the other four City Commission candidates, combined, through Jan. 31.

73 - years one couple attending “Say I Do Again” has been married

$26,000 - amount the Sarasota Music Half Marathon raised for local charities