A local real estate agent is warning people seeking out rental properties that all might not be as it seems.

Bill Sheppard of RE/MAX issued an advisory after learning that someone was offering one of his recent listings for lease.

He was alerted to the problem by a woman who messaged him Sunday evening, asking if the house was for sale and lease.

He told her the house was strictly for sale. She told him there was an ad on Facebook marketplace indicating that the house was being offered for lease. Sheppard says the ad was clearly posted by a scammer hoping to “separate you from your money.”

It was no time before he received another message.

This time a man messaged him letting him know that he responded to the Facebook ad, and was sent an application to lease the property.

Sheppard says he’s since learned that scammers will ask for money to “hold” the house until a person gets a chance to see it, and once the deposit is sent, they disappear and “your money is gone.”