VIRGINIA BEACH -- Police here are now investigating a growing con on craigslist.org targeting families looking for homes to rent.
A house belonging to a Virginia Beach police officer recently fell victim to a con artist looking to rent out the officer's home.
The ad on craigslist asked interested parties to wire money overseas for the home.
In exchange, the phony landlord promises to mail the keys for a bargain basement price.
The officer realized something was wrong when people began inquiring about the ad he never took out.
"I was like, these people are Christian, I'm Christian, and these people are helping the Lord and this is a blessing for me," Garcia said. And Realtors are falling victim. There are apparently two Deandrea Joneses trying to sell a duplex in Norfolk. There's the Deandrea Jones on craigslist... who claims to work in an AIDS orphanage in West Africa and needs rent money wired to Nigeria. And then there's the real Deandrea Jones, who is a local Realtor. "It was very upsetting," Jones said. Police say the best defense is for renters to educate themselves and make sure ads are legitimate by checking out a property and meeting a landlord before depositing any money. "Once we find out the money is shipped overseas we really have no way to identify an offender and bring them to justice in Virginia Beach," Hahn said.
"The problem (for) the homeowner is they are unaware and the next thing they know they have people show up at their house," said Virginia Beach Det. Rex Hahn.
13News first began covering the scheme in September when Melanie Garcia of Chesapeake explained how she almost fell for the con on her quest for a rental home.
She came across an ad from someone claiming to be a missionary.
