If you’re looking to rent a home in the Knoxville or Farragut areas there are some great rentals available, but there is also a fairly new scam being operated to relieve you of your money without putting you in a house.

I communicate daily with lots of Realtors all over the country via several social networking sites and email. One of my Realtor pals from Louisiana told me today that someone had commandeered one of her listings for sale and was advertising it for rent on Craig’s List.

The person advertising this bogus rental claimed to be the wife of an oil company executive that was suddenly transferred to Lagos, Nigeria.

Hmmmm, Nigeria, that should be waving some big red flags. I used to get email all the time from people claiming to be in Nigeria that needed to send their fortune out of the country and wanted to give me a 20-40% cut if they could just stick it in my bank account for a few weeks until they could escape and get over here.

This supposed ‘wife’ had an application for potential renters to fill out and she would then overnight the keys to them so they could go inspect their potential new home.

Of course the ‘application’ wanted some bank references as “proof of your financial capability” including account numbers.

And while you were busy watching for FedEx guy to show up with your keys the scammers were busy emptying your bank accounts.

Yeah, it’s that easy if someone get hold of your bank account numbers.

Here’s what Craig’s List recommends if you’re in the market for a rental home or apartment.

  • “DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON. Follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of Internet scams.
  • NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.
  • FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.”

It appears Craig’s List is being used for other types of real estate fraud as well. This is about how crooks forge names onto deeds and then “sell” your house to unsuspecting purchasers or refinance it and pocket the loan proceeds leaving you with a new mortgage to deal with.

If you need to find a Knoxville or Farragut house or condo to buy, KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is a great place to start your search.

And if you need to rent I can recommend some good, LOCAL, rental agencies that will put you in a house without emptying your bank account.