{"id":70444,"date":"2021-11-18T09:09:13","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T14:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/?p=70444"},"modified":"2021-11-18T09:09:13","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T14:09:13","slug":"be-on-the-lookout-for-fake-sellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/?p=70444","title":{"rendered":"Be on the Lookout for Fake Sellers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scam alert: The pandemic led to an increase in online transactions, giving scammers a new window of opportunity: They\u2019re contacting members as sellers who want to list their \u201chome\u201d \u2013 but it\u2019s for a property they don\u2019t actually own.<\/span><\/h4>\n
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ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 We\u2019ve heard an unwelcome trend on Florida Realtors\u00ae Legal Hotline lately: people fraudulently posing as property owners. They enter into listing agreements with our members and contracts with unsuspecting buyers.<\/p>\n

Fraud has long been an issue surrounding the sale of real property. The Statute of Frauds, which requires a contract for purchase and sale of real property be in writing and signed to be enforceable, originated in England in 1677. Florida has its own history with fraud, as people such as Charles Ponzi (whose last name is the origin of the phrase \u201cPonzi scheme\u201d) sold swampland in Florida to unsuspecting purchasers in the 1920s.<\/p>\n

Within the last few months, members have been reporting a new trend to Florida Realtors Legal Department: People sending electronic communications to brokerage firms, trying to convince them to enter into a listing agreement to sell property they don\u2019t own.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re currently sifting through diverse stories to see if any trends make these fake sellers easier to spot. Please keep an eye out for any red flags so you can avoid becoming a victim of these fraudsters.<\/p>\n

The first story we heard was reported in the newspapers, so it\u2019s the most detailed report we have. A residential homeowner in Central Florida was staying at his family\u2019s second home, which is located outside Florida. Some caretakers of his Central Florida home called to alert him that his locks had been changed, and that a lockbox had been placed on the front gate.<\/p>\n

The homeowner was alarmed by this news, so he checked security footage, which showed people he didn\u2019t know walking through his house. He quickly flew home and filed a police report. Two days later, he learned the rest of the story when a real estate licensee and photographer showed up to take listing photos. The stranger he noticed in his home on the security camera was the real estate licensee.<\/p>\n

Someone posing as the owner had been communicating with the licensee through email and WhatsApp, and instructed the licensee to change the locks, claiming to have lost the keys. Thankfully, the owner\u2019s intervention ensured the fraudulent listing didn\u2019t progress beyond this point.<\/p>\n

The rest of our reports are more second or thirdhand snippets of stories, but I\u2019ve catalogued as many different pieces as I can, so you can be on the lookout for similar stories. Feel free to reach out to our\u00a0Florida Realtors Legal Hotline<\/a>\u00a0with any additional examples you encounter. The more we know about these fraudsters, the better we can help our membership understand this issue and avoid becoming victims themselves.<\/p>\n