{"id":6442,"date":"2025-04-11T10:00:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T14:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=6442"},"modified":"2025-04-11T10:00:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T14:00:43","slug":"modern-inconveniences-remote-transactions-and-deed-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/modern-inconveniences-remote-transactions-and-deed-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Modern Inconveniences: Remote Transactions and Deed Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A CBS news outlet says online swindlers are \u201coverwhelming county deed offices\u201d throughout the state of  Maine. Worse, it\u2019s left targeted title owners scrambling to recover their properties. Many are forced to take their cases to the courts for quiet title actions<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A senior FBI agent in Maine, Christopher Peavey, spoke with CBS Channel 13 reporters about the outbreak of scams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Couple Moves to Maine, Gets Terrible Surprise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Phil and Lisa (a real couple) loved vacationing in Maine and decided to move there. They bought a valuable home in Kennebunkport. They selected their new home with painstaking care. Instead of going for a beachfront home, they picked one that\u2019s set back and safer from potential storm surges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, as the reporters observed, \u201cnothing protected the couple from the wave of fraud headed their way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within their first year of holding the title to their new home, something unexpected came to light. Scam artists were spoofing state IDs and other credentials, pretending to be the deed holders. A \u201cseller\u201d masquerading as Phil hired professional agents, telling them he had to sell that valuable Kennebunkport parcel from a distance. The fake Phil told them his spouse was deathly ill, and they were being driven into unsustainable medical debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agents weren\u2019t born yesterday. They sprang into action \u2014 calling Phil and tipping him off to communications by the \u201cseller\u201d that seemed off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real Phil was aghast. Someone was trying to transfer his and Lisa\u2019s property, making false claims about their personal lives. Someone had gone so far as to create false identification and claim to be Phil. Someone was trying to take away their dream home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quick-witted agents saved the day for the couple, but the story hasn\u2019t ended. Recently, Phil looked up the couple\u2019s new address, and found it listed as \u201cfor sale\u201d at Zillow.com<\/em>. Seems once scammers target someone the word is out \u2014 and the scamming snowballs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The couple has now applied for a building permit, and they\u2019re hoping that will help prevent any more false recordings with the county. Will it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReal Estate Scams Are Sweeping the Northeast,\u201d FBI Finds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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According to the CBS interview with the FBI agent, one big reason for a new wave of scams is computer tech. Swindlers are at the cutting edge of it. They\u2019re well versed in electronic signing. Even worse, they can do fake notarizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deed theft often relies on the ability to extract deed holders\u2019 personal information from online sources. And yes, scammers are now using AI. So, for instance, they might use the real owner\u2019s face and voice, when interacting with real estate professionals through a video screen. Perhaps they found an empty property they want the agent to list? This is how they succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FBI is taking action. It\u2019s working with property owners, title companies, real estate brokerages, and title insurers. The FBI warns homeowners of \u201cquitclaim deed fraud\u201d or \u201chome title theft\u201d \u2014 schemes involving forged documents and manufactured deed transfers, as bad actors impersonate title agents or parties in transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swindlers often send their ill-gotten gains out of the country, making the lost value even more difficult to recover. But fast action can pay off. Boston FBI advises:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FBI can work with our partners to try to stop wire transfers and recover the funds within the first 72 hours. We urge folks to report fraud and suspected fraud to the FBI\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are any perps actually getting caught? The FBI does catch some of these creeps, and ultimately stolen deeds are usually returned to their rightful owners. But righting the wrong of deed theft is usually a long struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s even worse when the swindlers manage to sell the home to unsuspecting, bona fide buyers. That just adds to these criminal deed transfers \u2014 with more transfers and more victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Proposed Bill Could Set Up a Maine Fraud Commission<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a fact list covering just four recent years \u2014 2019 through 2023 \u2014 courtesy of the FBI\u2019s Boston Division, which handles real estate fraud in Maine, and also Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n