If it sounds too good to be true, more than likely it is.

Within days of listing her client's home for sale in the Multiple Listings Service, Joyce Kinsella was getting calls from people interested in renting the property.

"I was concerned because we didn't list it anywhere for rent," said the Bristol-based real estate agent.

So when she started getting calls asking if the home on Andrews Court was still available, a red-flag was raised.

The three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom Cape-style home was apparently listed for rent on Craigslist.com for $800. In Bristol, the going-rate for a home like that is easily $1,800, Ms. Kinsella said.

Hooked by the price, several interested in the home emailed the poster, who replied to their inquiry asking for the person's information, not necessarily their Social Security number.

"It's a very common scam unfortunately," said Paula Fleming, vice president of marketing and communications at the Northeast Regional Better Business Bureau. "The homeowner is almost always not involved, and doesn't even know their home is on Craigslist until someone tries to move in, or get their money back from the true owner."

The poster's email reply came from Greatfamily896@yahoo.com. It was even signed by the homeowner, Michael Conti. It stated that he was in Kansas, and due to his job as a missionary he was unable to get a Realtor to handle getting the home rented.

The email further stated that he tried to sell the home, but that the Realtor often inflates the price, and that "I am telling you this in case if you find the house on another website, that is the old (advertisement)."

"I wasn't comfortable with the fact that people would think he was out of the country," Ms. Kinsella said of her client. "So for a couple of nights, the police patrolled the home. I was worried about potential burglary."

The scammer would then ask for an upfront security deposit or first-month's rent, without giving the person a chance to see the home, Ms. Fleming said.

Ms. Kinsella immediately advised Mr. Conti to file a police report, notifying them of the scam. She also contacted Craigslist, which promptly removed the post.

"When I saw the email, I knew right away that a majority of people would not respond to it because of the broken English and improper spelling," Ms. Kinsella said. "Whether police can track that down, it's questionable. Normally it's from people who are out of the country."

Ms. Fleming said that some of the scammers advertise properties that don't even exist.

"When possible, I always encourage people to visit the property first," she said.

There have not been any reports of money lost over this particular scam, said Bristol Police Dep. Chief Steven Contente.