9WANTS TO KNOW
DENVER – 9Wants to Know has found a recent scam that’s creating more victims than the people who orchestrated the scam probably expected. The scam targets everything from million dollar homes with mountain views to small houses in the center of Denver.

Sharon Skye’s $2.2 million home in Arapahoe County is for sale, but lately she’s had some uninvited “guests.”

“Two times, two different couples have come to the door and been alarmed,” Skye said.

They are alarmed because they expect the home to be vacant.

That’s what the Craigslist ad says which lists her home for rent.

Skye has found her home incorrectly listed two times.

The ordeal has become not just frustrating, but also frightening, she says.

“Right through this window is my master bedroom,” Skye said as she walked along a deck which looks over the Rocky Mountains. “I was looking through the window and noticed footprints,” she said.

The prints were made in the snow and went all around her house.
“I’m guessing people are looking in my windows,” she said.

9Wants to Know found homes incorrectly posted on Craigslist in Arapahoe County, Arvada, East Denver, South Denver and Thornton. Each home is listed far below market value.

Realtor Janet Kritzer found someone had posted a home she listed on Craigslist 15 different times.

A family even broke into the home thinking they had rented it, she says.

“A young couple with a baby sent money and thought they’d had rented this house. They came over here to move in and found no one here and couldn’t get here. They actually got themselves into the house through a window and started moving in,” Kritzer said.

Amy Maupin and her husband, Stacy, sent $2,600 to a man who they have since learned ran the scam from Nigeria.

“He used our faith on us. In the e-mails back and forth it was ‘God bless you guys,'” Maupin said.
When a prospective renter finds an ad on Craigslist, the person is instructed to e-mail the supposed landlord. Return e-mails from the landlord are almost identical no matter the property.

The e-mails say the homeowner is currently in West Africa for a mission. The e-mails are often written using poor grammar and ask the prospective renter to wire money overseas in order to get keys to the house.
The scammers often sign the e-mail using the real name of the homeowner. The Maupins thought their transaction was legit when they checked the county assessor’s website and found the owners name matched the name on the e-mails.

“This is a very active scam going on daily,” said Mason Finks, Arapahoe and Douglas County District Attorney Fraud Prevention Director.

“I’ve had, over the years, several opportunities to talk to these scammers directly and say, ‘Hey, look this is the D.A.’s office. We are coming after you.’ They laugh about it because they know we are not coming,” Finks said.

FBI agents investigate internet crimes but have a hard time tracking down people in Nigeria because the country does not cooperate with U.S. Government criminal investigations.
“That may be one of the main reasons why they choose [Nigeria],” said FBI Special Agent Scott Schons.

He tries to educate the public about such scams and says prevention is the best option.

Anyone who is a victim of one of these scams should report it to local police and the FBI, Schons says.
Scams can be reported on the FBI’s crime reporting website. (http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx)

You can also get more information on the FBI’s scam safety website (http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/) and the website “Looks too good to be true.” http://www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com/

Have a comment or tip for investigative reporter Jace Larson? Call him at 303-871-1432 or e-mail him
at jace.larson@9news.com. You can also follow him on: Twitter, Facebook and Blogger.