Typically I consider myself pretty conservative and tend to use extra caution while in unfamiliar territory. While traveling I'm always keeping a watchful eye in congested areas like airports or train stations and keenly aware of details that seem out of place. In the age of Internet SPAM offering all kinds of SCAMS I have learned to skim the title and hit delete.
The On-Line World is such a big part of my daily routine that I check in quite often. Before dinner Monday night I received and email that caught my eye with interest thinking a couple from the UK that purchased a home a few months ago must have given my name to a friend. The email from Jane Everett asked that I call her but since the time differential between the East Coast of the United States and England is 5 hours it was too late so I emailed her.
Tuesday I tried unsuccessfully to call and wondered if my cell phone required some special code to make international calls but didn't aggressively look for a solution. Wednesday morning there was still no response so I sent a second email and did some Google searches with the information I had in an attempt to verify the phone number and email address of the prospective home buyer from the UK that would be arriving next Thursday.
A few details in the email did strike me as odd. First was the salutation, "Hi There," a red flag since I was never addressed by name. Next I noticed the spacing of digits between the first and second phone number, could be a simple typo but in a signature you'd expect it to be corrected. The email also struck me as strange because it was so general but I ignored all the little clues and really thought it was legit.
My google search did turn up an exchange from Twitter. With a little digging within Twitter I learned that this "Jane Everett" also contacted others around the country and they were trying to figure out where in the world she is relocating.
This is not rock solid evidence of any wrong doing but the Red Flag is waving. BEWARE because"Jane Everett" may not really be out there to purchase a home in your area.
Anyone ready to undertake the adventures of searching for property in New Haven County can contact Dan Cummings - The Running Realtor via email or call my 24 hour access line : 203-672-2455
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