NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A north Fulton homeowner has a warning for anyone who is putting their home on the market.
David Levins put his Roswell house on the market two weeks ago. He's been showing it ever since.
But police say his listing, on popular real estate website Zillow.com., caught the eyes of scam artists who quickly copied the pictures and information.
"Allegedly they do this thousands of times and eventually they con a few people," Levins said.
Levins listed his home for sale on Zillow, but suddenly callers were ringing his phone asking about a rental listing on a different website, Trulia.com.
"The first one I thought they were just mistaken, but by the fourth or fifth call I knew something was going on," Levins said.
Levins got one caller from Florida to send him the rental listing. The rent was below market to drive up interest and whoever poached the listing wrote up a whole back story about being out of the country for five years and asking for responsible renters to take care of the home.
"It's a little bit scary my home being used to try to con somebody out of money," Levins said.
Levins got the fake listing pulled down and Roswell police traced the bogus phone number to New Orleans and the email to the United Kingdom.
But what's also alarming is why the fake application form not only asked for basic identification but a family photo as well.
Levins says it's buyer and seller beware.
"Don't do business by email. Go to the home and speak to someone who has access to the home," Levins said.
WSBTV
