Beware: Home Seller Scam Hits Florida
Con artists are forever seeking novel opportunities to swindle people out of their hard-earned money. They are on the lookout for new circumstances to develop new scams. They understand that when a new situation arises, people are far less likely to be aware of these new techniques.
The pandemic has offered these thieves exactly such an opportunity. Specifically, in real estate, the pandemic has led to a sharp increase in online transactions. Their first step is to contact real estate brokers offering to sell a property which they do not own. Their goal is to successfully enter a contract with an online buyer, receive the standard ten percent down payment, and then maybe even conclude the sale and collect the full payment for the property. If not, they figure, absconding with the down payment for the sale is still worth their efforts.
Recently, the Florida Realtors Legal Hotline (FRLH) has seen a sharp increase in electronic communications to brokerage firms from people claiming to own a property who want to list it for sale. (Of course, these swindlers do not own the property.)
The FRLH has offered a list of warning signs, gleaned from their recent experiences, to help homebuyers and brokers more easily identify a scam:
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When a “home seller” offers a passport as evidence of their ownership, beware that the passport may be a forgery.
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Beware of a foreigner who claim to own a local property if he offers excuses as to why he doesn’t have valid ID. A common excuse used by these crooks is blaming the embassy by explaining that they’re trying to renew their visa, and the embassy temporarily has their passport or other identification.
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In one case, a broker with a real listing from the actual owner had to phone a different brokerage firm to ask why a “for sale” sign was already on the property. The fraudulent seller had the sign put up; the actual owner did not yet authorize the sign, as he wanted to touch up the property before installing the sign.
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If the seller is a foreigner, be sure that the title agent carefully checks the seller’s passport for authenticity.
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The FRLH had a case where a seller, who was a German citizen, claimed that he would betraveling internationally during the term of the listing and sale. This could be a red flag.
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Beware that a fraudster can put up beautiful but fake pictures of the property on the internet. The property, in such a case, could be an open lot. This is a common practice for the con artists.
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Some of these operators are shrewd enough to list a fake property with a broker who is from an area some miles away from the broker’s area of expertise. This way, the broker is less likely to be aware if a “home for sale” is actually vacant land.
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Sometimes, the fraudulent listing was for a vacant property owned by a person who is deceased.
As you can see, the techniques vary and include excuses as to why “the seller” does not currently have identification, or the use of fake identification. Sometimes the rightful owner is deceased, foreign, or claims to be traveling.
The FRLH says that so far none of these attempted scams have worked. All have been uncovered before money changed hands. But there’s often a first time. Buyers should exercise vigilance, so that they’re not the first one to be taken in.