Attention Home Buyers, Sellers, Renters, Landlords or anyone else searching for properties and rentals on the worldwide web. Especially sites like Craigslist, BackPage.com, Zillow or other free listings sites that allow non licensed people place ads for real estate!
There is a HUGE SCAM running through out sites like these that you need to be aware of.
CRIMINALS are Hijacking addresses, property pictures, property descriptions from honest people and/or real estate ads and then placing their own ads on the same sites with different pricing, rents, etc to draw you in. Then they have you call a fake Google Voice number that when someone then "bites" they send them an email with an link to an application asking for ALL your information.
They say that they're moving cross county or being recalled on short notice by the military and they need someone trustworthy to rent/buy their house asap. They tell the patsy to ignore the Realtor's sign in the yard, since they have "fired" that agent because they were charging too much money with no results and the agent has refused to remove the sign. They advise they will leave a key for you hidden at the property or a family member will drop the key off if they select you as the renter or buyer.
You either never hear from them again because they are busy DRAINING YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS or they ask for cash to be mailed to them and then when you go to the property, THE REAL OWNER is still living there and has no idea what you are talking about.
HOW TO PREVENT FRAUD
A) Hire a licensed Realtor to make sure you are protected.
B) Stop looking at or requesting information from online classified or property sites . 30-40% of the data is inaccurate or up to 6 months old and many classified ads are simply fraud. Your agent can send you new listings each day via email that will save you time and help you avoid all scams.
C) List you home with an agent that knows how to track your property information so these scams can be spotted early if they are using your home.
D) Report all scams to the local authorities, Minnesota Attorney General or the FBI as many could be from foreign nationals like the Nigerian scams.
REMEMBER: IF IT FEELS WRONG OR TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE...IT LIKELY IS!!
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