Theft occurs through online real estate listing

A woman searching for a rental home online in Mountain Brook was scammed out of $2,000, according to Mountain Brook Police.

The victim used Trulia.com to find a home on the 3600 block of Westchester Circle. She contacted the person who listed the home online and was told to send $2,000 via Moneygram to Houston to receive the keys to the listed home by overnight mail.

The woman sent the $2,000 but never received the keys. She went to the house and spoke to the owner of the home who knew nothing about the Trulia listing.  

The listing has been removed, and the phone numbers used by the suspect are unregistered prepaid numbers.

This week's Mountain Brook Police Department crime report also listed a possible attempted burglary between Feb. 14 and 15. An unknown suspect damaged the door of a home on the 3200 block of Rockledge Road.