WASHINGTON -- A D.C. man said he was the victim of identity fraud that almost cost him his home.

The FBI said the scam involves both identity theft and mortgage fraud, and some people in D.C.'s Shaw neighborhood have become victims.

One house in the area sold for $120,000 in 2005. It was put on the market a month later for $1 million.

The owner, who was in the process of restoring the home to live in it, said he never knew until he got a call from a neighbor.

"She said, 'There's a real estate agent in your front yard and I told him you are not selling,'" Eugene Tucker said.

The FBI said scams like the one that befell Tucker are the work of identity thieves armed with information taken from the victim's mail, among other places.

Experts recommend shredding mail that contains personal information before throwing it away. They said, if a house is likely to be vacant for some time, find a house sitter.

The FBI said it is probing at least two similar cases in D.C.

Tucker estimated that he spent more than $300,000 in fees for lawyers and private investigators to retain his house. He said he still doesn't know how someone got a Virginia driver's license in his name and pretended to be him at the closing.

Three years later, Tucker said he's still waiting for a response from D.C. government fraud investigators.

"They have never contacted me," he said.

Experts said it's a good idea to look at deed files from time to time to make sure there's nothing in there that should not be.