Cedar Rapids woman nearly snared in Craigslist scam

You can buy just about anything online these days on Craigslist. But before you send money to someone else, make sure it's not a scam. It's getting even more difficult to tell the difference.

Elizabeth Barron of Cedar Rapids logged onto Craigslist and found a home she wanted to rent.  "I was ready," she said. "I liked the place and the pictures looked good."

So, she sent an e-mail to ask for more information and drove by the house. When she called the phone number listed on the "for sale" sign, she realized something was wrong. "I was very, very upset," she said. "Very mad."

Realtor Jean Perkins spoke to about ten people who saw the Craigslist ad. Even though the posting correctly listed Perkins as the realtor, it included a false Yahoo e-mail address. "When I started to speak to these people, they said, 'I've been e-mailing you back and forth for two days about this house,'" Perkins said. "Obviously, that was a phony e-mail using our listing information and my name."

Read more of this story at KCRG.com