By out of area I mean extremely out of your working area. This morning I received a request from the west coast. I live on the east coast. This owner asked for 30 visit's over the course of 2 days for a puppy. When I realized they were 2700+ miles away I replied and they never responded, so I declined it.
Obviously some kind of scammer. It is best to check with Rover Customer Support to see if the request is from a bona fide customer. I have received a couple of out-of-town requests but, as I recall, Rover Customer Service served as an intermediary. I think I even received a phone call from them. The requests were from people who were coming to visit in my town and needed a place for their pet since wherever they were staying couldn't accommodate.
In your case, Rover's system should automatically reject them since they're out of your service area. It is totally different when you board vs when you provide visiting services, like drop-ins, walks or house sitting.
a quote from Rover Support I received today: "Thanks for letting me know. Even though you have the radius set up to two miles, it is still just a preference. Sometimes these request can slip through the system. This is not something that we can change just yet."
Laura, LOL! That answer from Rover is totally ridiculous. Slip through an automated system? Too funny!
Yes. Many times. It is always them either not updating their address or someone who will be visiting town. Just ask them if the address listed is correct. In my experience it has never been a scammer.