DRAPER, Utah (ABC 4 News) – We’ve heard about the real estate scams on the internet where buyers and renters need to be careful. But, if you have a house on the market you can also be impacted.
“This is really creepy.” Jennifer Cassar says the phone call came Wednesday morning when an ABC 4 viewer was interested in her ad on the internet looking for a renter to lease her Draper home.
Cassar says, “She said I’m calling about the ad you have on the internet but I’m kind of confused because there are two separate ads.” Cassar posted on Craigslist and another local website, but she was confused by the two different prices listed. She did some investigating. Cassar says she “Got on the computer and sure enough the very first ad that popped up was for my house, had my address, my name, a fictitious email address with my first and last name and listed my house for $700.”
If it seems too good to be true it usually is. There’s not much difference but this is the real ad from Cassar lists the house for $2250 a month with some pictures attached. The fake ad used for the scam says $700 a month and uses the same information and photos.
Cassar says, “It just makes you not want to use sites that are really useful for people like me who are looking to rent their house out or even rent a home in the future.” The fake ad has been taken off of Craigslist. It was removed after Cassar responded to the ad threatening legal action.
She wants to warn other homeowners in the market about the scam and remind others to be careful who they're sending money to. She says, “I didn't want to be fraudulent in any way and I didn't want my name used the wrong way.”
Cassar's real ad has been posted for close to a month. It appears the scam ad was posted Wednesday morning.
