My House Is Where?

This past weekend we had two open houses. To our great relief nearly 50 people walked through during our showings and by Sunday night we had two great offers on the table. We accepted an offer for a bit over asking and took a sigh of relief and a moment to try to let the past month's progress sink in. By Monday morning we were feeling really good about not having to prep the house and that so many potential buyers appreciated what we had done. Apparently too many people appreciated it because the following happened.

Wayne picked up the phone late Monday afternoon to be questioned by a man who was looking for answers. You see this gentlemen was looking to rent a house in our area so he went on Craig's List to find an apt/house for rent. He stumbled upon a listing that interested him and contacted the e-mail address listed about the home. There he spoke with a man with a foreign accent who said he was traveling abroad and was renting his house while he was away. They discussed a deposit, but this prospective renter felt something was off. After getting the address of the home via e-mail he used software at his job to track down the home number of the house. What he got when he called was my husband confused about what he was saying.

Apparently someone stole our listing off of the realtor's site and posted it as though it was their home. Thankfully the good Samaritan called us and I immediately contacted Craig's List. I am still waiting to hear "back from a human" but I flagged the post as prohibited and it is thankfully no longer listed on their site. Story over right?

Not so much. Today as I was watching my boys and my nephew Jack, a car pulled up into my driveway. I was reading to the boys on the couch so the man saw me through the window, otherwise I probably wouldn't have answered. I figured he had a question about the for sale sign outside, or was a client of my husbands. He was actually a man whose daughter had been in contact with this scam artist as well and wanted to know if the house was for sale or for rent. I explained to him the situation and that someone was using an image of our house to run a scam, the house was pending sale and was not and would never be for rent. He went away thank God, but seriously it was awkward. I am hoping that no one shows up in a moving van one day and we have to explain they were taken in by a con artist. It makes me sick how some people abuse the Internet, and it also made me aware that caution is key when it comes to cyberspace. What strange cyber story can you tell?