GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – An alert about a new scam targeting property owners. It’s a type of real estate fraud that’s on the rise.
Realtors and title companies are on high alert and you should be too.
In this Consumer First Alert, Tammy Elliott explains how the scam works and what you can do right now to protect yourself.
The FBI put out an alert saying this type of real estate crime is up over 500% over the last few years. Scammers posing as the owner and selling property they don’t own.
ABC News shared the scam warning on GMA. You’ve likely seen the plot to steal Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate.
Officials are calling attention to this troubling trend where someone forges documents and notary credentials with the goal of stealing their home or land.
A property owner in northeast Wisconsin reached out to me after getting an unsettling number of letters from across the country with offers to buy her land.
“That’s what’s concerning, what’s to stop them from filing a deed that I sold the property to ‘em when I didn’t,” she says.
“People are posing as sellers and selling these people’s properties,” says Brown County Register of Deeds Cheryl Berken. “Unsuspecting buyers are buying properties and putting buildings up on it.”
“I can tell you that in the last 2 years, the amount of losses that homeowners have incurred has doubled,” says Scott Moore with Property Fraud Alert.
The Brown County Register of Deeds says a property fraud alert is your first line of defense. On their website, PropertyFraudAlert.com, you can sign up for free to have your name monitored to track possible fraudulent recordings that affect your property.
This does not prevent fraud from happening, but it provides an early warning.
“They will receive a notification within 24 hours and that’s tremendously important because if they find out a year or two or longer down the road to untangle that mess is a nightmare,” says Moore.
“Property fraud alert, knowing that it happens right away is the key,” says Berken.
Contact your county where you live or own property to find out more.
Scammers often target vacant land or properties that are free of loans or mortgages, pieces of land that people aren’t checking on regularly or don’t live near. And if you’re a buyer and it sounds too good to be true and the seller won’t meet in person, ask questions.
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