Real estate agents in Hutchinson warn of scam

After a quick call to the home's owners verifying they hadn't put the house up for rent, Mog was able to get the ad removed from Craigslist before any damage was done.  On Sunday he was even hosting an open house at the same address.  He says this isn't the first time this has happened to him.

“We've seen it a couple other times, my broker at the office said he's had a, you know, a client that it's happened to, and seen it, and this lady that notified us about it, that saw it, had fallen for this once before.”

The best way to protect yourself from a scam like this is to actually show up at the property and don't share any personal information with anyone until you've met the landlord in person.

“If they send first month's check and deposit, things like that,” Mog warned, “I mean they could, ah, do unlimited amount of damage. Identity theft, that's what it's all about.”

Advice followed now that can save you a big headache later on.