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Hawaii County police are warning residents of a rental scam that used a Hilo house being sold by its woman owner.
The scam has already been used on Oahu, and Honolulu police recently warned the public about it.
The Hilo woman learned that her house, which she listed for sale, was posted for rent by some unknown person on Craigslist.
The Hilo woman e-mailed the person who posted the fake rental listed.
That person claimed to be the owner of the rental home and to be out of the country. The scammer then asked the woman to wire $800 to the foreign country in exchange for a rental agreement and house key.
The bogus owner also instructed the real owner to disregard the “FOR SALE” sign and not to contact the real estate agent named on the sign.
Police warn prospective renters not to make arrangements to rent property without confirming the person renting the property is the owner or authorized rental agent.
