This is smilar to the Re-renting the house scam, but this time, the tenant who moved in will post your property for sale on the internet, posing as the owner. He puts it for a low market price so he gets a lot of attention. He will tell the buyers he is in a bad financial situation and owes thousands of dollars in back-taxes.

He then decides to "sell" the home to the buyer who can offer up the biggest cash deposit. He takes the money and runs and you're left to explain the mess and find a new renter quick.

How to avoid: if you are the owner of the house, ask the tenant to show you two pieces of ID and make sure they are real. If you are buying a home, don't hand someone a large cash deposit without asking to see the land title agreement, drafting up a bill of sale and, hopefully, going through a lawyer. Sometimes, people will sell it themselves and if that is the case, make sure you get all the information about this person and this property.