The letter begins something like this:
‘Thank you for your email and interest in renting my house? I am Mrs. Gwendolyn Hopp, the owner of the house?(where) I reside with my husband and daughter. Presently we have moved out’due to my work in West Africa, Nigeria?.Please, I want you to note that I am a kind, honest, and trustworthy man.?
Gwen Hopp does consider herself a ‘kind, honest and trustworthy? individual, but that’s where the facts end and the fiction begins, she said.
Hopp, a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker Schweitzer in Clarkston, is not a ‘man? doesn’t have a ‘husband,? isn’t the ‘owner of the house? and certainly doesn’t work in ‘West Africa, Nigeria.?
She is, however, angry; someone is using her name in an attempt to scam people from their money.
The house in question?2,600-square-feet of freshly decorated living space on a 2.5-acre lot in Brandon Township’was posted for rent on Craigslist, a website featuring free classified ads for jobs, housing, goods, services, romance, local activities, advice and forums in more than 550 cities in over 50 countries.
Just $900 a month, the ad said, included utilities.
‘The house is a legitimate listing,? said Hopp, who’s been in the real estate business some 24 years. ‘But I never advertised it on Craigslist.?
Instead, someone pretending to be Hopp used information and photos from the real listing to put together the Craigslist ad.
The legitimate listing for the home, she explained, has an asking price of $229,000, or $1,900’not $900’per month lease.
Hopp first learned her name was involved with the Internet scam when a Brandon Township woman called to let her know she’d inquired about the post on Craigslist and received a response much like one she received previously.
According to Hopp, the Brandon woman’who could not be reached for comment’said she responded to a similar ad about a home for rent in Waterford, and met with the alleged renters who were able to show her the home. She subsequently sent $1,000.
When she arrived to move into the home, however, it was locked and deserted.
A police report was filed and a summary published Jan. 14 in The Citizen, sister paper to the Clarkston News: ‘On Jan. 6, a Brandon deputy responded to the 3800 block of Apple for fraud. The complainant said she responded to an ad on Craigslist for a house for rent in Waterford. She sent four money grams for a total of $1,000 to a ‘Jack Simmons? in Nigeria for a month’s rent and security deposit. She then learned the home was for sale and contacted the real estate agency, who informed her the man she sent her money to doesn’t own the home and others have been scammed also, always by a man from Nigeria claiming he’s doing missionary work. The case is open.?
Hopp filed a police report as well, flagged the Craigslist posting as illegal and fraudulent, filed a report to the Board of Realtors.
Since, a number of other people have expressed interest in the fraudulently listed home in Brandon, but called Hopp for more information when they became suspicious over the letter.
‘I feel terrible that people are getting scammed out of their money, especially when times are so bad,? she said. ‘I’ve been in the business a long time. My profession is built on my reputation and my ethics. I’m angry.?
But, she noted, that’s not the worst part.
‘What’s really scary is these people are finding a way into these homes to show them,? she said. ‘As a representative of the seller, I have an obligation to protect them. Anytime there’s an appointment now, I double check to make sure it’s a licensed agent.?
Hopp also suggested others proceed with caution.
‘If the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is,? she said.