Jessica and Nellie Gustavus They are trying rent out a home posted on Craigslist that the government has the keys to. The address is 9810 McCrea Ln. Houston Texas

There is quite a bit of this going on the last few years. Scammers "create" a fake listing on craigslist by scaping the photos from legitmate listings on other websites. The scammer then posts the property for rent substituting another fake contact name and contact info. The properties that the scammer uses can be from anywhere. The address is real, their rental listing about it is fake. The scammer has nothing to do with the property - they don't have access or the right to rent or sell the property. Their whole point is to get you to send them money via Western Union or money gram or green dot card or any other untraceable way. The phones are throw aways and once they have enough deposit money from a bunch of people, the scammer moves on to scrape the next property's photos on another non-existant listing.

What each of these properties have in common is that the offer is "too good to be true". Also, the red flag is that you don't actually get inside the property, the scammer asks you to drive by first. Then, if you like it, he/she asks for money to be sent directly to them personally via western union or money gram or any untraceable method. The excuse the scammer made about the keys being with the government is a lie to keep you from discovering that you have been scammed too early so he can continue to work this particular home a little longer. You can bet your money is gone.

You can report it to the police, but because you sent the money via an untraceable method it is doubtful they will be able to catch the thief. It is a big problem now because this is being done across the country. Don't send money to anyone using these untraceable methods. Legitimate rentals are never rented this way. Good luck. I hope you do report it to the police.