Consider a recently identified email-based scam that appears to have raised your interest in the online real estate industry. At this point, we don’t know if it’s a relatively innocent attempt to collect personal information, identity theft, or if the final plan is significantly more sinister.
These people review listings online and express interest in a property listed for sale. The first question is pretty standard and innocent. Something like: “Hello seller, we are interested in purchasing your property. Please contact us again by email if it is still available. Have a wonderful weekend.” or “Hello seller, we are very interested in your property for sale. Please come back if it is still available to us. Have a nice day.”
The follow-up email gets considerably more specific and has a series of numbered questions – some are related to real estate, some are significantly more personal.
Here are a number of fake buyer questions gleaned from an actual follow-up email: Questions 7, 8, 9, and 10 are particularly concerning and invasive.
1. What is the firm price?
2. Is the property originally painted?
3. What major repairs have been made?
4. How the property has been maintained.
5. Any registration available?
6. How many owners?
7. Certificate of insurance, if any?
8. When did you buy the property and why do you want to sell it?
9. Are you a US citizen?
10. The property and the property are in whose name?
Even after refusing to provide answers to questions 7, 8, 9 and 10, the scam continues …
Rev Martins Hord
wrote:
Greetings!
We had accepted its price which is 218,900. We will make a deposit of $ 40,000 for the property. We had written a certified check for $ 40,000 and the balance of $ 10,000 is for our broker for his trip to his states for the property inspection and other necessary renovations and well-being. So you need to deduct the $ 30,000 deposit and send the $ 10,000 balance to my friend who is currently in the US and is also a UK based broker via money transfer to allow him to offset other necessary expenses. preparations. I told myself everything about the property and he is committed to helping me. Once the broker meets you and inspects the property. Your remaining balance will be available to you.
Just consider the property under contract for now and wait until the broker arrives. We recommend that you confirm this information listed below for the delivery of your payment through the courier service to your address.
Legal name:
Address:
Cell phone number:
House number:
Payment by check must be delivered directly to you; This is for security reasons, again I pay you directly in person and to facilitate communication between the two.
Look,
Rev Martins
Did you see the “RED FLAGS”?
How to avoid this particular email scam and related ones …
1. Do not give, under any circumstances, personal information; not necessary until closing.
2. Insist on speaking directly: Most of these types of scams are unique to email.
3. Understand that 99.9% of residential buyers will see a property in person before they start talking about money, much less making a full offer at the asking price.
4. Beware of “Foreign” Buyers – Email addresses are generally not based in the US, and most of these scams are conducted overseas to avoid US prosecution.
5. Most importantly, remember the old adage: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
What to do if you feel like you are being a victim:
Go to http://www.ic3.gov/complaint and file a complaint
Contact your ISP and block senders’ email addresses
