Woman Rents Out Home... That She Doesn't Own

Four students thought they got a good deal when they found a home to rent in South San Francisco for $450 a room. Just one problem: After paying the woman they thought was the landlord $1,800 and moving in on Nov. 1 ... they were kicked out last Thursday when the people representing the real owner of the house arrived, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The students learned about the supposed rental on Craigslist, and the woman who posted the ad even gave them a tour of the vacant home.

Police think she ran her scam by finding vacant homes, breaking in, and changing the locks; she even checked property records so she could assume a name listed on the official paperwork. On the day the owner's representatives arrived, one of the renters had left the door open as she carried in groceries, "and some people just barged in and started yelling that they wanted us out," she says. Of course, the suspected scammer has since disappeared and is wanted by police, the San Jose Mercury News reports. It's not clear what the students will do; the property agent wants them out, but as of yesterday they were still there. (More weird crimes stories.)