Christina squirreled away what little money she had for months to be able to move from the valley to Thousand Oaks and reconnect with her only son.

Last week, she paid $3,000 cash for a deposit, signed a lease and got the keys to a quaint, three-bedroom house. "This was our chance at a new, better life," she said.

But her dream was quickly smashed when sheriff's deputies showed up Sunday and relayed crushing news: The woman she'd paid didn't own the house. Christina had been duped by a scam artist.

"These poor people are now in really sad shape," said Ventura attorney Tim Quinn, the house's rightful owner.

He arrived Sunday at the home he rents out on Calle Jazmin near Thousand Oaks High School and was surprised to see furniture inside. Quinn said he was between renters and had come to do some work on the place.

He realized something was wrong and called authorities when his keys didn't work; the locks had been replaced.

Strapped for cash, Christina, who is disabled and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and her husband are now staying at a Thousand Oaks hotel.

"Now I am homeless and trying to figure out what to do," said Christina, who asked that her last name not be printed because her son attends a local middle school and she feared he would be teased for their situation.

Sheriff's detectives investigating the fraud declined to comment.

Victims may not pursue justice

The landlord scam is not new. Local law enforcement and real estate officials say they are seeing a marked increase in real estate fraud snaring unsuspecting homeowners and renters. They worry more crimes could occur as the region's housing market fills with vacant houses and desperate homeowners.

The scams range from pretend landlords making off with rent checks to so-called foreclosure specialists cheating people out of money.

"Losing your home is a highly stressful time," said Santa Paula real estate agent Dale King, president of the Ventura County Coastal Association of Realtors. "People are embarrassed, and money is tight. And a lot of time these victims won't pursue justice, but they are pursuing survival first."

County prosecutors say they have seen instances of people renting out properties mired in foreclosure. The renter doesn't know anything about it, and then is evicted by the bank or new property owner, said Jeff Bennett, chief deputy of the Ventura County District Attorney's special prosecution division, which oversees fraud cases.

Another scam involves fake and even licensed real estate professionals going after troubled borrowers, King said. They agree to take over loan payments and let the owner stay and pay rent or rent the house for them. The scammer, however, never pays the mortgage, and collects a few thousand dollars in rent before the lender initiates foreclosure.

A variation on that has the scammer persuading the homeowners to file for bankruptcy a day or two before the scheduled foreclosure. That stops foreclosure proceedings long enough for the scammer to make off with a few more months' rent, according to documented reports.

Check out the landlord

Bennett's advice to avoid fraud: Be cautious about what you sign, deal with reputable firms, request and call their references.

"As much as a landlord checks you out, you need to check out your landlord," said Douglas Tapking, executive director of the Area Housing Authority.

Christina said she found the listing for the house taped to a newspaper stand at a Thousand Oaks shopping center. The woman who answered agreed to meet her at the house.

She described the woman, who introduced herself as Sonja Martinez, as being in her 40s, Latina, dressed in simple, casual clothes. "She seemed like a mom," Christina said.

Christina said she found it odd that the lawn was uncut and there was some trash on the premises, but the woman explained she hadn't had time to get to it. The woman agreed to drop the rent from $1,800 a month to $1,500 a month, said Christina, who planned to rent a room to help pay the rent.

Everything was going great until sheriff's deputies showed up and said they had to leave. The owner, Quinn, rents the house for $2,300 a month. He said he visited a few weeks ago and everything was normal.

He gave the pair a couple of hundred dollars to pay for a motel, Christina said.

"I felt terrible for them," he said. "Talk about a huge blow."

Christina is not sure what she and her husband are going to do. He can work, but she no longer can because of her anxiety issue. She earns $800 a month in Supplemental Security Income.

The pair don't want to go back to the San Fernando Valley. Not after saving for months to reconnect with her son, who has been living in Thousand Oaks with her former mother-in-law. "I feel worst for my son," Christina said, choking up. "He was so happy about this. He has been through enough."

Where to turn

Seniors can get free legal service from firms like Grey Law, a private nonprofit organization. Grey Law can be reached at 658-2266.

Migrant workers and rural poor can get legal help at California Rural Legal Assistance, which has an office at 338 South A St. in Oxnard.