Land Scams

Land Scams-Seller Beware!

While scammers can target Realtors, they can also target landowners directly too. The essence of the scam is that (typically) a licensee is contacted about selling a property by a fraudster in an attempt to steal the proceeds from the sale. Most commonly, initial contact is made by telephone or even more often, by email. The fraudster is looking to sell the property, usually on an expedited basis because they need the proceeds for another project or other investment. In truth, the fraudster has selected this particular property, which they do not own, because it is undeveloped or overlooked by the actual owner.  Fraudsters can go to great lengths to appear legitimate in these schemes. Some possible steps might be: It is common for fraudsters to contact brokers via email or telephone to initiate the transaction. This might be due to the fact that the fraudster is attempting to cover up an accent or that they do not speak the preferred language of the actual property owner. In many cases, the fraudster will not make in-person appointments or will explain that they are currently working out of state or even out of the country. Commonly, fraudsters develop a series of excuses for (1) why they want to sell the property, (2) why time is of the essence, or (3) why they do not want other family members to know about the transaction (perhaps because they would ask for proceeds from the seller’s estate or will). Many brokers can identify that something might be off in transaction when a fraudster purports to be a representative of the seller for some reason. They may be the legal guardian, legal custodian, the attorney-in-fact, the translator, a family member, or the close family friend for the “actual owner.” In cases such as this, the fraudster may present documentation in support of this claim such as Letters from a Probate Court, an executed power of attorney, or appear to carbon copy (cc) the actual owner on email correspondence.  It has been reported recently that copies, photographs, or scanned images of driver’s licenses or other government issued identification have been presented to real estate licensees which purport to show that the fraudster is who they are claiming to be. It is important to remember that when copies, photographs, or scanned images are digitized and delivered, the quality of the image is degraded and therefore, easier to doctor by a fraudster.

So what does one do?

First, check with your Realtor.

Do your research. I can also run an ownership and encumbrance report to get the owner's info and see if we are dealing with a fraudster.

Report any fraud to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations.

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Dawna