{"id":3218,"date":"2023-08-28T07:48:08","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T11:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=3218"},"modified":"2024-04-25T23:17:34","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T03:17:34","slug":"look-out-for-these-bizarre-real-estate-listing-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/look-out-for-these-bizarre-real-estate-listing-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Look Out for These Bizarre Real Estate Listing Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Nationwide, real estate scams<\/a> siphon hundreds of millions of hard-earned dollars into the accounts of fraudsters. Some new and unusual scams can fool real estate professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider the use of AI by cutting-edge scammers. As the news show 60 Minutes<\/em><\/a> recently noted, hackers now use artificial intelligence to copy someone\u2019s voice, and have access to apps that change what comes up on a caller ID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few hallmarks of scams that every home seeker or home lister should know. Keep in mind that tech-savvy scammers make these sneaky ploys all the harder to avoid or trace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Will the Real Listing Agent Please Stand Up?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Imagine being an agent and finding out someone\u2019s impersonating you on a real estate website. Outraged agents have turned to social media to let others know about scammers who steal their names and grab their online bio photos, to pretend to be real professionals with homes to sell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fraudulent listings can be reported and flagged. But the real estate company website might have no policy to flag the impersonation of agents. And once scammers know there\u2019s a security vacuum, more rush in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, ads have turned up on a range of internet sites listing homes for sale, impersonating real, local agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homeowners Surprised by Hopeful Renters (Home Isn\u2019t for Rent)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Investor owners might list their homes for rent at one price, and hear from hopeful renters who saw a different price on the internet. Homeowners, like professional listing agents, can be exploited without their knowledge by online impersonators keen to separate home seekers from their hard-earned cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scammers use popular real estate sites and rental platforms to scrape up the details from real listings, but make theirs sound a little better \u2014 by writing in lower deposits or monthly payments, more lenient pet rules, and so forth. Then they insert bogus contact details and ask for money to be wired or transferred online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scammed home seekers might go to the home tours. When they mention details they saw online, the homeowners figure out something\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Illinois home was listed on a popular real estate website, complete with pictures, by a scammer. The rattled owner said people kept showing up at the home, and some even sent money to the scammer to rent it. The owner told ABC News Channel 7<\/em> that visitors were getting \u2014 even signing \u2014 copies of a bogus lease, already signed by the (fake) owner. These scammers, their victims report, can sound legit and empathetic on the phone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the real owners figure out what\u2019s going on, they rush to report it to the online listing company. But by the time a fake listing is removed, a scammer could have already taken an innocent home seekers\u2019 funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vacation Property for Sale? Know Your Seller<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another neat trick swindlers have? Listing other people\u2019s vacation properties for sale. Or even sleazier, listing the empty properties of older people who have moved into community settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scammers have a knack for searching public records to find paid-off homes, and steal the real owners\u2019 identities. They might impersonate the owner with a fake ID, but use other addresses to divert mail and money. They might write emails to agents to list the properties for sale. Or call up listing agents and say they have to sell from a distance. Often, they\u2019ll discount real estate to move it fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of these people manage to trick experienced agents into listing a property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u261b <\/em>Agents must carefully check the identity of sellers. Watch for <\/em><\/strong>remote online notarization<\/em><\/a> to become a key part of this verification process in the coming years.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We tend to rely on title experts for safe transactions. Title experts are pretty good at vetting buyers and sellers by closing day. What a title company needs to avert is the mistake of transferring closing funds to a bad actor. So, the companies require precautions. Examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n