First-time homebuyers have plenty on their plate without worrying about additional issues like potential criminals who are looking to pretend the property is theirs to make some quick cash.
Melissa Work told "Good Morning America" she found out her home that she listed as a short-term rental on Airbnb was instead being solicited by someone else to give tours to potential buyers.
Many homeowners have rented out their real estate on Airbnb to make some extra cash, but the latest warning comes after someone was offering to sell Work's house on another listing, which she only find out thanks to a good Samaritan.
When Kelly Roth of Oregon saw the listing, she thought she had hit the jackpot for a friend who was looking to buy a home.
Roth showed the listing to her husband to locate the address and asked him to guess how much it cost: "...He thought, you know, $600,000. And I'm like, 'no, $225,000,'" to which Roth said her husband questioned that something must not be right.
Roth tracked down Work online, who confirmed her house was not for sale, but instead explained that it was listed as a short term rental on Airbnb.
"My heart started beating fast. I was just thinking how in the world could my home be listed?" Work told "GMA."
When she checked her Ring doorbell camera, Work was shocked to find someone allegedly giving tours to potential buyers.
"I can hear the audio, and then the family was meeting her. And she even said, 'please take off [your] shoes here,' and she was welcoming the family to show them around the home," Work recalled.
The listing for Work's property specifically said "first-time and cash-buyers only."
"She would have them write a check personally to her versus the title company, which would be a standard practice," Work explained. "I just thought, 'oh my gosh, that's so sad for any family that may be victim to her crime.'"
Airbnb told ABC News in a statement, "We provide account security measures and online safety tips to our users, which helps make disturbing incidents like this very rare. Despite those measures in this case, a bad actor was able to take over a guest's account and we have been working to support our host."
The woman who had booked Work's property, a business owner in Colorado, was allegedly hacked and her account compromised. Even the initial booking was allegedly fraudulent.
Airbnb urged its users to change their password regularly and to make it difficult and unique. They also suggested not to click on random links or emails.
Additionally, it can be good practice to use an encrypted connection, usually seen depicted as a little lock icon next to the web address.
Finally, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.