This home for sale appeared in a fake Craigslist rental ad.
MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. (WZZM) - A Muskegon County woman says a scam artist is using her house to try and steal money from people looking to rent. Her house is up for sale, not for rent, despite what the fake ad on Craigslist was saying.
Stephanie Muckey was hoping her real estate sign would get attention from potential buyers. However, last week she received several calls from people trying to rent instead.
"We started receiving phone calls and had people stopping by asking if it was for rent. We've never had it for rent," says Muckey.
Muckey realized someone was using a fake ad and pretending to be the owner of her home.
"They put an ad on Craigslist that the home was for rent for $300 per month," says Muckey.
She says the scam artist claimed to have moved to Nigeria for a mission trip. The person responsible for the ad even used her husbands name, Keith Muckey, and gave specific directions to her house.
"The last thing I wanted was someone coming here looking for the person who took their $300 and finding that Keith does live here and he's home. That could have been a bad confrontation," says Muckey.
When WZZM 13 emailed the person responsible for the ad, they responded by saying, " The total move in deposit of $300 must be paid down, before the keys and documents can be sent to you. We only want a renter who is ready to move in right away."
"I would never give any money until I've met that person face to face," says Brenda Harris, Muckey's realtor.
Harris says she's seen the same scam over and over again.
"I would say 10 of my listings in the past four months have been stolen and put on Craigslist for rent," says Harris.
"It's not the realtors fault. It's not Craigslist's fault. It's just when people do this it makes you a little uneasy and its just who do you trust?" says Muckey.
Muckey says police told her they couldn't investigate the case at this point because there was no evidence a crime was committed. The ad has since been taken down from Craigslist.