The agent checked the documents and realized that the contact information, the wiring instructions, and the name of the recipient of the funds didn’t match the name of the seller. On the other end was a woman claiming the property was stolen. According to ALTA, there’s been an uptick in this type of fraud emerging before the winter holidays.Īfter closing on a vacant property, a Boca Raton real estate broker, Marshall Sklar, got a phone call that stunned him. Instead of waiting to divert the funds from a legitimate deal, criminals pose as the owner and dupe a real estate agent into listing the property on their behalf. Related Reading: Keeping Real Estate Transactions Safe: Cybersecurity Best PracticesĪs the inventory of existing homes wanes and the opportunity to exploit business email compromise shrinks, fraudsters are looking for unencumbered vacant land to repeat the fake owner scam. Here’s how the scam works, the red flags to watch for, and how hiring a title and closing agent can help. Recently, the American Land Title Association (ALTA) put out an alert on a growing trend of deed fraud targeting vacant properties. Another form of wire fraud starts before the contract is signed, and investors eager for a good real estate deal are prime targets. Most stories of wire fraud seen in the news involve phishing scams and business email compromise targeting the buyer’s down payment or the mortgage payoff. International rings of cybercriminals are dedicated to various types of real estate scams that can be executed over email, phone, and the internet. Thanks to the connectivity of the modern age, a fraudster doesn’t even have to be in the same state or country to commit these crimes. Real estate transactions have long been a favored target for cybercrime scams since the payday can be astronomical. Fraudsters are also changing their schemes as the volume of real estate sales shrink. Investors aren’t the only ones adjusting their strategies as market conditions continue to shift.
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