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WZZM 13 ONLINE
Heather Carlson says someone posing as a reputable Realtor nearly duped her into renting a Holland home that already had tenants.
HOLLAND, Mich. (WZZM) -- She was looking to rent a home and says she was nearly duped out of hundreds of dollars.
A Holland woman is sharing her story about Craiglist, hoping to prevent someone else from falling victim to what she calls "a real estate scam."
Heather Carlson spent months searching for a home, and then found a house for rent on Craigslist.
"I couldn't believe it was so close to the lake," says Carlson.
The $600 dollar monthly rent was also ideal, so she immediately responded to the ad. A person calling themselves "Bob Bouman" wrote her back.
"He wanted $500 for security deposit and $600 for rent," says Carlson.
The so-called "Bob Bouman" wanted the money sent to a lawyer in Texas. That's when Carlson got suspicious and Googled the name. She found a Holland realtor named "Bob Bouman" and called him.
"I said, 'I haven't talked to you at all'," says Bouman.
It turns out the "real" Bob Bouman got a similar call last year.
"I said, 'You got the right address, but it sounds like a scam that I ran into last summer with someone else'," says Bouman.
"I automatically felt sickened," says Carlson.
Bouman does own the property, but the home is already rented out to a tenant until June.
Bouman says he always meets the client face to face.
"I'd meet people at the house, show them the house," says Bouman.
Carlson won't have her dream house just yet - but now she has a few extra tools and a little extra money for when she finds the right place.
Craigslist has taken the posting from the "fake" Bob Bouman down.
Carlson plans on filing a police report very soon.
Reported by Alex Shabad in Holland