Craiglist scam nearly gives Regina woman unwanted roommates.

Someone copied the property listing for Raymond's home and posted it as a rental on Craigslist.

It started innocuously enough — Carole Raymond put her five bedroom house up for sale and it was posted, with pictures, on her realtor's website. 

Then a young couple dropped by for a peek, except they were looking to rent not buy.

"I guess I won the lottery for a scam," Raymond told CBC Radio's The Morning Edition. 

Raymond said someone in the US had spotted the property listing for her house and ripped it off word for word, posting it to Craiglist as a rental advertisement for $800 per month.

The scammer asked for references, demanded the couple to fill out an application, and used the name of a realtor in Toronto, Raymond adding the ad was "asking all the right questions."

The couple had arranged to rent the home over email with the scammer who said the couple would receive the keys to the house once an email transaction was complete. 

"They were going to rent the house for the $800 month which the scam artist said was well below market value — which it is — but that he just wanted a reliable person looking after his house, that he was going to be out of the country for two years," Raymond recalled.

The scammer had told the couple to drive by the home and take a look, so they did. But when they arrived, Raymond said she was in her garage at the time. 

Raymond told them she was the owner and was selling the house. It was at that point, the couple realized they were nearly scammed.

No money had been exchanged. Raymond said a police report has been filed by the potential renters. She advised other would-be renters to be careful when looking for a place.

Raymond said the scammer left his phone number and when the couple called him, he answered and asked which home they were asking about. She said that seemed as though he was doing the same thing with more than one property.

"When a deal like this is too good to be true, it might be a scam," Raymond said.