Anchorage Daily News

Internet scammers using a South Anchorage house as bait tried to rent out the property without the homeowners' knowledge -- then, when confronted, tried to get the owners to rent their own home, according to Anchorage police.

Michael and Michele Haley discovered this week that their house had been posted for rent on Craigslist by someone other than themselves, police said. The house is for sale, having been put on the market about three weeks ago, and a real estate agent posted the listing on the Alaska Multiple Listing Service Web site, said Michael Haley.

'BAD GUY IN NIGERIA'

"Next thing you know, the bad guy in Nigeria gets the information on there and lists the house for rent for $700," said Detective Sgt. Ron Tidler, supervisor of the Anchorage police computer crimes unit.

The information about the house was almost identical to the MLS listing and was likely copied from it, Haley said. The couple found out about the scam Monday when Michele was outside and a prospective renter showed up, he said.

"Some guy just drove up and said, 'Did you know this house is for rent on Craigslist?' " he said. "It just blew me away."

The couple flagged the listing and contacted the poster via e-mail asking what was going on. In response, the poster sent them a rental application for their own home.

Anchorage police say the scammer was likely working from overseas using a tactic increasingly common in Anchorage and across the country.

HOW IT WORKS

The scam typically involves a foreclosed or for-sale home being posted for rent on Craigslist, with the "owner" claiming to be out of the country -- often doing missionary work in Nigeria -- and saying the home needs to be rented right away, Tidler said.

Victims wire money to the contact but don't find out until they show up to move in that the actual owner knows nothing of the deal. By then, the money is long gone.

Police recommend reporting the crimes, which are often committed overseas and out of their jurisdiction, to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.

ADVERTISEMENT