Just after Thanksgiving, reader Adam’s new renter showed up on his doorstep to look at the house and pick up her keys. The trouble is, while Adam’s house is for sale, it’s not for rent. The woman on his doorstep was the victim of an Internet rental scam.

The prospective renter found the house for rent on Craigslist. The script should be familiar to anyone who has seen a rental scam in action: the scammer was renting the house from his missionary job in Spain. The renter wired a deposit, then went to look at the house and pick up the keys.

Adam had contacted Craigslist repeatedly to have the listing for his house taken down. He told NBC Chicago that he saw the ad as an annoyance…and didn’t expect to have a scam victim turn up quite literally on his doorstep.

International Online Scam Targets Renters, Home Sellers (Warning: video starts automatically)

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