DENVER -- The Internet has become one of the most popular ways to search for a home and one of the popular Web sites is Craigslist.

The mostly free forum for online classifieds provides a vast local selection of properties to buy and rent.

"It was disappointing certainly to find something that looked like such a good deal and realize it's a total scam," said Sarah Rotch.

Rotch thought she had found the perfect rental home on Craigslist.

"Initially it didn't jump out at me. There wasn't much information. What did jump out at me was the price and quality of the photos," she said.

Rotch wanted to see the home in Denver in person.

"Lo and behold, it turns out to be this really nice house with a sign out front and brochures. I was like, is this for real?" she said.

Rotch quickly learned the answer to that question was, "No."

After corresponding online with the purported property owner in West Africa, Rotch got suspicious and called the Realtor listed on the sign outside the home.

"It's widespread and that's the shocking part, because Craigslist has had in our area a really good reputation," said Realtor Debbie Bates.

Bates could not believe the ad for her legitimate Craigslist property listing had been copied with false information added to it.

It turned out, that was not the only property of hers that had been fraudulently posted on the Web site.

"Then I started getting additional calls and another listing was identified to be involved in this potential rental scam," she said.

Bates said one renter who called her almost fell for it.

"One woman started crying, another was like, 'Oh my God. We were just going to wire the funds'," she said.

"Craigslist is a huge source of victims for scammers. Everything from selling something, to in this case renting a property that's not theirs," said fraud expert Mason Finks.

Finks said you need to confirm who owns the property before you agree to rent it.

"You've got to know the people you're dealing with or you shouldn't do business with them," Finks said.

Craigslist has a warning on its Web site that says, "Deal locally with folks you meet in person" and that by following that advice you avoid "99 percent of the scam attempts on Craigslist."

Finks said it is easy to verify who owns a property by going to that county's Web site under the assessor's page and putting in the address. He said it will pull up the name of the homeowner.