Con artists have been taking advantage of the housing meltdown by acting as bogus landlords and renting foreclosures. 

Here's how this typically plays out: A criminal will call a locksmith out to a property and say they locked themselves out. Once they get in the house, they'll pay the locksmith for his or her service and wait until they leave. Then they'll call another locksmith and have that locksmith come out to re-key the lock. 

When the coast is clear, they'll put up a "for lease" sign or list the property on Craigslist. Unsuspecting tenants go to look at the property and find it's a steal of a deal. The criminal who is masquerading as a landlord is only too happy to take a deposit and hand over the keys. 

Tenants may continue paying rent each month by sending it to a post office box. Then one day, out of the blue, someone comes around and says, "I'm with such-and-such bank and this is a foreclosure. Why are you living here??" 

Special thanks to our listener Raymond, who works as a realtor, for letting us know about this scam. According to him, some crooks are even scraping info from legit MLS entries to enhance their Craigslist come-ons. 

Here's what Raymond told us about how this scam affected one of his listings: "I looked up the ad [on] Craigslist, and there was my listing complete with the description from my website and several of the pictures I'd taken. [The criminal] was offering this 2,000 square foot home in a community that has a swimming pool, park and tennis courts at $750 per month! Such a home would really rent from $1,250 to $1,500 a month." 

So how can you protect yourself as a would be renter? Have the landlord show you a copy of the deed on the property -- as awkward as that may be to ask. 

A few general warnings apply as well: Don't wire any money for a deposit ever. Be suspicious of post office box addresses as a way to send monthly rent; physical street addresses are much safer. And be sure you have a written and executed lease before occupying a property. 

Most of the time, a landlord will be on the up and up, but you have to protect yourself when they're not.