Sarah Wilson has been apartment hunting for a month now, scrolling through Craigslist for two bedrooms, two baths. She came across a listing for $850 in Kaneohe!

"I was surprised and I actually believed it," Wilson said.

She replied to the ad and that's when she says the lies started. A man named "Micheal" said he's not looking to make money off rent; just a responsible person to look after his home while he's in Africa, but that the keys are with him so if she'll fill out a lease and mail over a deposit, he'll send the keys right away.

"He knew exactly what to say to me, to make me believe he was the owner of the house and there was his wife in the background saying for me to send the money through mail," Wilson said.

But Micheal's rental ad is for a home that's on sale. Sarah didn't buy his story and neither did we. But we gave Micheal a call in Nigeria to see what he'd say.

"Is this Micheal?," asked KGMB9's Tina Chau.

"Yes, this is Micheal," the man said.

"Are you still renting the two bedroom in Kaneohe?" Chau asked.

"Yes, it's still available," replied the man.

He goes on about the key and deposit exchange, but when it was obvious the jig was up, he hung up.

Sarah's mother, who saw her daughter go through this ordeal, wants other consumers to beware.

"She was very violated," Laurie Wilson said, "calling someone and giving out your address and knowing she was scammed. That's unacceptable."

And there's that old adage: if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

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