Tipped Off By Real Estate Agent, Cops Catch Rent Scammers In The Act; Pinch Two Who Allegedly Hijacked Possession Of Vacant Foreclosure & Used Craigslist To Reel In Unwitting Potential Tenants

In Vacaville, California, the Daily Republic reports:

• Real estate broker Melody Kramer found out that one of the homes she was trying to sell was being exploited by rental scammers when told by one of the victims.
  
  Her first reaction? “I said, ‘Not again,’ ” Kramer said Thursday, “because it has happened so many times.”
  
  But this time, there was a silver lining to this scamming plague that is afflicting Realtors: The two scammers were still showing the house to their prospective victims.
  
  Vacaville police swooped in Wednesday morning on the house on Chelsea Court to arrest two suspects who had police said changed the locks on the bank-owned house, put the home for rent on Craigslist.com and were meeting potential renters there.
  
  “This is unfortunately very common,” Vacaville police Detective Aaron Potter said.
  
  “It is more common than people think,” said Kramer, adding that’s the case even with a lot of red flags to warn people about the scam. The scam has been around for a long time, but has taken off since the foreclosure boom and is still going strong, Kramer said.
  
  When the real owners of the house show up, the renter gets evicted and is out of a home and the money they paid.
  
  “It makes our job a lot harder,” Kramer said. “We have to go through an eviction and they (the renters) are out on the street. They (the renters) are more of a victim than I am.”
  
  Kramer’s advice to potential renters is simple: Do your research. Find a local property manager or real estate agent to ask about the property. Search for the property online to determine if it is indeed for rent or sale, and verify if the person really owns the property.

Source: Police, real estate broker foil house rental scam.