Over the weekend a seller we represent contacted me regarding a concern that we had also listed his property for rent. He said that three different people had show up at his home unannounced yesterday saying that we had told them to stop by the property and check it out because if was for rent for only $800 (BTW, that's well below market value in this marketplace, no wonder there was so much interest!). Of course we hadn't listed his home for rent. And after a little research we found a posting on Craigslist offering the property for rent. It had already been flagged for removal by the time we found it, but, doing a little bit more research we found a press release by the FBI titled "New Nigerian Scheme Utilizing Craigslist - Scam Being Perpetuated in South Carolina".
We always advise our clients that their safety comes first. Furthermore, we tell them that no one should show up at their home unannounced and without a real estate agent to see their home. And should anyone do so, we ask our sellers to ask the person to call us so that we can make proper arrangements for them to see the home. Remembering this advise the seller turned all three parties away and referred them back to us. When we were in contact with one of the people that stopped by, we were made aware of the details of the scam and are pretty sure that this is the typical Nigerian scam now in operation here in Maryland.
So, you might want to advise your sellers that this type of activity is in operation in our area here in Maryland. And, once known by the scammer, may likely move elsewhere soon.
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