I read an article on MSN today about squatters and foreclosures. With so many vacant houses around the country this is a growing problem. Bank owned houses are often not monitored, which just invites trouble. Squatters often have fake leases, so they transfer all the utilities into their own names. They then will have to be evicted through the court process!
Sometimes they gain entry by obtaining lock box codes, or by getting a locksmith to change the locks. Police won't just throw them out if they produce fake paperwork because they don't know who to believe, nor do they want to punish a victim of a fake landlord scheme.
Some lenders will pay squatters to leave a property; which is breeding a whole new problem of organized squatters. They find out which lender pays and go from property to property and wait to get paid off.
Listing agents have tried removing all the toilets from the house to scare away squatters ! (I would think that might scare away some buyers too ;) or they make sure all utilities are shut off.
Watch those vacant properties! Whether its in your neighborhood, you are the landlord, or the listing 
agent; check in often and have the neighbors on the look out for any suspicious activity.
In the article, the water was shutoff to the house but the squatter tried to tap into the water line, spurting water all down the street, so he was finally arrested on a misdemeanor charge of stealing utilities.
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