New Jersey couple’s home listed for sale on Zillow without their knowledge

Imagine getting phone calls at all hours of the day and night asking about the sale of your house when you're not even selling your house. That was the case of a Toms River couple who were the victims of a "For Sale By Owner" scam on the real estate website Zillow.

Unbeknownst to Fred and Ellen, who've owned their home for over thirty years, someone put a listing for their home on the site according to an article by Patch.com.

The couple contacted Zillow and after several attempts had the listing taken down.

In this crazy overheated real estate market, the listing generated dozens of calls and inquiries not only from desperate house-hunters but from realtors as well.

One realtor wanted to hold an open house to get as many buyers as possible in to see the house. They contacted Toms River Police and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, to make sure no one was filing for the deed to their home.

Zillow says they have safeguards in place to prevent this kind of activity. After the ad was taken down it appeared again with an open house date.

According to the same Patch report, Zillow officials said additional safeguards have been put in place to ensure this doesn't happen again. The listings were apparently put up by two different people, but a clear motive and suspect have not been identified.

It could have been someone who doesn't like the couple and wanted to prank them, but no one knows for sure at this point. Be nice to your neighbors and everyone who knows your name because all of the information about you and your home is available online for any idiot to try and do this to you.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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