Beware of scams in a tight housing market

(Gareth Henderson Photo)

If you see a home listed for sale in Woodstock, Vermont, on Craigslist, it may not be on the market at all. 

In recent weeks, several occupied homes in the Woodstock area were falsely listed for sale on Craigslist and occasionally other online housing platforms. Though there isn’t a clear read on the details, it’s indeed a scam, and some sources say it’s likely the result of outdated real estate information being repackaged and reposted online. That general scheme has led to false rental postings in the past — something that’s nothing new in the digital age. 

Omni Reporter became aware of this scam when a lady came to my property wanting to see our place. I said it is not for sale, but she was very insistent and said it was listed on the internet. After she left, I put on my investigative reporter hat and found the listing online. In mid-October, several other people in our neighborhood also found their properties were falsely listed for sale or for rent, the majority being on Craigslist.

Woodstock Police Chief Robbie Blish said in October no one had reported this issue recently, but he’d heard of such scams before, mainly regarding fake rentals. 

“We have had similar incidents in the past involving rental properties, meaning someone advertises an apartment for rent that doesn't belong to them,” Blish said. “In that case, several years ago, no money was lost and we were alerted to the ad and it was reported to the company.”

As for the recent fake for-sale listings, that appears to be more rare than the false-rental scam, in which perpetrators would try to trick prospective renters into sending them a deposit. Laird Bradley, owner and principal broker of Williamson Group Sotheby’s International Realty in Woodstock, said the fake for-sale scenario “is pretty new”, but could have the same goal of falsely collecting some kind of deposit. Some of the prior rental scams have repackaged for-sale listings as rentals; others showed entirely fake properties. 

Bradley noted it’s been a tough real estate market, and scammers might see an opportunity as a result, especially if someone is desperate for housing. 

“In our greater Woodstock area, we’ve been at zero vacancy long before COVID,” he said. “It’s been a difficult market for a very long time.” 

Bradley said real estate agents have been watching online platforms, especially Craigslist, for years now. 

“Let’s just say I’m not surprised,” he said of the scam. 

There have been no reports of any real estate scams being successful in the Woodstock area recently, including any false for-sale listings. Several were taken down after the relevant company was contacted. 

For more information on these kinds of scams and protective measures to take, click here and scroll down to the tab labeled “Craigslist/Online Listings Scams”. 

To report a scam, you can contact your local authorities and reach out to your state’s Attorney General’s Office. Contact information for the Vermont AG’s office is available at this page.

— Gareth Henderson