Member Alert - False buyer may have accomplice.

For those of you that have not had the chance to read the TREB updates,  below is one of the Alerts posted.  I have to imagine that any agent that has been through the described situation has got to be pretty frustrated. 

"TREB has received recent updates that a woman described in a Member Alert dated June 19 2006, is still active.

The woman has been posing as a buyer in order to gain money and favours from unsuspecting Members.

She claims to be from out of town and shows interest in properties, attending open houses submitting offers to demonstrate her intention to buy. She is very intelligent and articulate but is likely homeless and carries some belongings with her in bags and a cart.

The woman asks to be driven around downtown Toronto for personal business and demands favours such as food or money for the subway. She is very demanding and at times demonstrates erratic and even violent behaviour.

She is described as Asian 5' - 5'2" with gaps between her teeth.

Recent updates indicate that she may now have a male acomplice, on the other end of the phone only, not seen in person. The male claims to be her brother. Their story is that the woman wants to purchase a property because she has just arrived in Canada and will be working as a research assistant at U of T. "

Source: TREB

 This (and other such situations) leads me to wonder what steps agents take to qualify buyers?  I would appreciate some feedback from fellow agents.   If your business is based mostly on referrals, I imagine that you are less likely to fall into these traps, but what about agents that are still building their businesses - any tips on how to avoid such situations... or does it just come with the territory?