DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — There's a new real estate scheme that Realtors say they've never seen before.
One family told Channel 2's Craig Lucie when they listed their home for sale someone created a fake listing using their names and told people to feel free to walk around the property at any time.
"It's happening to so many people," Symeria Searcy told Lucie.
That's one reason Searcy and her friend, Nicole Gordon, are speaking out. They are trying to stop another scheme that's popping up on multiple websites including Craigslist, Hot pads, Zillow and Trulia.
They said the fraud started as soon as they emailed who they thought was the real owner of two different properties.
"He was saying he was the owner. It was $800 a month, including utilities, and he has re-located to the UK with his family because of business work," explained Searcy.
Gordon got a return email from another man and read it to Lucie.
"I'm the owner of the home currently. Me and my family are in Poland due to a job transfer," Gordon said.
Searcy wanted to get more information about the DeKalb County home and Gordon asked a few more questions about a Decatur condo.
"As long as I could send my deposit and first month rent, he'll go head and send me the keys," Searcy said explaining both the emails they received.
As soon as they realized the stories weren't adding up, they tracked down the real owners.
"They have been looking for this person that has been scamming this particular unit for months," Searcy said.
Paul and Emily Harrison say they are victims of the same scheme, but they are on the other side.
"Everybody knows about Craigslist scams, but this was a first," Paul Harrison said.
They say their Realtor has never heard of someone taking their 'For Sale' listing and creating a fake 'Rental' listing.
"They took my name and flipped it, and put my name first and created a Yahoo email address," Paul Harrison explained.
Not only that, they said the scammers told potential tenants to stop by their house anytime.
The email said, "Just go head, walk around the house, and I'm like 'no way, I've got two little kids here," explained Emily Harrison.
Property management companies said this is becoming a major problem for them.
They said one way to avoid this from happening to you is look to see if the rent is half of what it should be.
They said that should be the first red flag. Also see if the email is worded differently and the person claims they had to move due to business.
They add if you're selling your home, Google your address to make sure that the listings that pop up are legit.
WSBTV
