Category: Fraud
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$199 Check From “County Deed Records”? Recognize Home Warranty Renewal Scams
Frauds and fakers commonly target homeowners for money. In one of the sleaziest schemes going on at the moment, a home warranty vendor is trying to get homeowners to sign up for its product. What’s worse, the marketing letters don’t look like sales materials. They look like they come from the local recorder of deeds.…
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Pennsylvania Sues Broker for Recording Sneaky Liens on Homes
The Harrisburg office of Attorney General Josh Shapiro recently announced a lawsuit against Amanda Zachman, founder of MV Realty, and the company itself. A.G. Shapiro slammed the company for misleading Pennsylvania homeowners with a so-called Homeowner Benefit Program and recording liens on homes without notice. MV Realty charges an upfront payment in return for getting exclusive listing…
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Notorious Jersey City Mortgage Fraudsters Face Justice
The office of the U.S. Department of Justice in the District of New Jersey recently made an announcement. Its investigation of a New Jersey mortgage fraud scheme is drawing to a successful close. A Jersey City resident concocted a series of crimes. Over the course of the scheme, a trio of collaborators bought properties and…
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Here’s the Lowdown on Mortgage Fraud Today
Mortgage fraud involves a loan approval based on false statements or omissions. It can also involve getting some other kind of improper advantage from a lender through false statements — such as being allowed to make a reduced loan payoff, or make easier payments. Mortgage applicants can commit fraud. So can home sellers. So can…
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Fraud Update: Closing Scams Now Make Up Nearly Half of Cybercrime Losses
What’s a closing scam? Consider the Colorado home buyer who, a few weeks back, opened an email from the title company. It contained precise instructions for wiring the closing money. The amount requested — about $80,000 — matched the amount the title company had already discussed. Everything looked legit. Two days later, the title company…
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Fraud Watch: Real Estate Scams and the Millennial Home Shopper
According to the Federal Trade Commission, tech-savvy folks aged 40 and under are far from immune to scams and frauds. And most scams that hook them begin in an email. And the coronavirus economy is creating even more opportunities for fraud risk. A bogus email can appear to be a message from an ecommerce or business…
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Real Estate Law Enforcement: Catching Up to Deed Fraudsters
Some years back, the state of Georgia, under the Georgia Code (GA § 44-2-43), made stealing houses by recording fraudulent or counterfeit real estate deeds a felony, incurring 1-10 years in prison. Witnesses who help perpetrate Georgia deed fraud are subject to the same potential penalties. Georgia is not alone in its resolve. The FBI…
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Elders and Real Estate Fraud: A Burgeoning Problem
Evelio and Milagros Esteban are in their 70s and they’ve been homeowners for years. But recently they ran into trouble paying their mortgage. That was when they mistakenly transferred their home deed to another Miami resident, who offered to help them rent out their home. Thinking they were signing a Section 8 housing application —…
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Viral Fraud: More Deed Crime Targets in the Coronavirus Economy
Well-known schemes are being repackaged for the time of COVID-19. Here’s an overview of how real estate fraudsters are approaching their targets — and how to avoid becoming one. Scams flare up during natural disasters and financial crises, so we can expect a spike in deed fraud in 2020 and beyond. Battered by the pandemic,…
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The Quitclaim Deed and Fraudulent Real Estate Transactions
Quitclaim deeds show up commonly in fraudulent real estate transactions. This type of deed fraud can impact elderly people, buyers purchasing real estate from strangers without warranty, renters who are paying someone who is not a legitimate owner, and anyone involved who might buy, sell, or own property. Here, we examine how it happens and…
