Know the Signs
Have you noticed homes for sale on the Facebook (Meta) Marketplace? Or Craigslist? Some of the listings offer a great way to spot a home. But shopping for homes online is not without risks.
This year in Florida, three scammers have swindled more than a dozen people who thought they were browsing homes for rent on Facebook. The three are accused of perpetrating real estate fraud crimes in the city of Homestead and in Miami-Dade County.
As reported by Local 10 News, police are investigating the three suspects. All three could be implicated in an organized scheme in at least nine separate fraud cases carried out in February and March 2022.
One of the three, Priscilla, has been identified as a tenant in a home the group listed. Priscilla is currently resisting an eviction notice from the real homeowner.
Priscilla has repeatedly masqueraded as a listing agent. The other two have presented themselves as homeowners. Together, the clique has drawn hopeful residents to the unoccupied houses they claim to be renting out.
Come Into My Den…
People have encountered this trio on Facebook, when looking for homes to rent in the Miami area. One of the hopeful renters recounted having found a listing, and followed up by going out to tour the home. It seemed fine. The parties signed the lease. The hopeful renter, who has children, paid the scammers thousands of dollars for a security deposit and two months of rent.
Another target handed over all of her savings to be able to have a place to move into with a new baby.
The targets went through the usual paperwork process, and submitted proof of their income to the scammers. When the time came to move into a home, multiple people would be on the scene, trying to move in to the same space.
Arrest Made in March
On March 7, 2022, Priscilla (the tenant who is under the eviction order) was arrested in connection with the scheme. The charges include grand theft, an organized scheme to defraud, and posing as a real estate professional.
The two other suspects have yet to be apprehended.
The court heard that Priscilla defrauded the Homestead targets out of $24,000. She even had the audacity to tell targets to visit the local police department to request criminal background checks before calling them back to approve them and take their down payments.
But for every arrest made, many other opportunists are finding their way to social media, looking for their marks. One Tampa Bay area resident, Vaughn, was recently browsing through listings on Facebook Marketplace, and saw an attractive rental. Vaughn had a hunch something was off, because there was only text and no photo. Vaughn called the person who posted the home, and was told it was available, but couldn’t be shown because the owner was out of state. Vaughn was instructed to drive by the home and the parties could handle the application and payments afterward. Vaughn asked how this would work, and the Facebook poster said the keys could simply be mailed.
Guess what? Yes, the person on the phone was a swindler, and not the owner of the home.
Steer Clear of Real Estate Rental and Purchase Fraud: Here’s How
If you see a home advertised on social media, ask yourself hard questions. Does the deal seem too good to be real?
A fake real estate agent or pretend owner can copy the listing from a real broker’s Facebook page and undercut the real offering with a fake (lower) price. This copying and pasting is known as scraping. A scammer can also scrape listings from a real estate site and make new ads for Facebook, Craigslist, etc. Sometimes people in minority communities are deliberately targeted in these schemes.
Most of these online fraudsters never get caught. Many operate from out of the country, or are equipped to immediately transfer ill-gotten funds internationally.
So, trust yourself if you’re questioning a listing. And check the regular listing sites, because real homes for sale or rent should appear on the Multiple Listing Service. Just keep in mind that real estate information is available at your fingertips online. Double-check the property, its owner, and any real estate broker’s affiliation, LinkedIn page, and so forth.
When calling the owner or the owner’s agent, consider the attitude of the person you might be working with. Are you being asked for personal data or money before having an appointment to tour the space? Are you being told the home is unavailable for touring? These days, there’s technology to assist people who sell, buy, or rent remotely.
The recorder of deeds in the county where the home exists has the ownership information on file. So, contact the county courthouse. Make sure the seller you’re dealing with is the real owner of the home. Be entirely sure you can verify ownership of the home before offering personal details or a deposit.
If you’re working online with someone you don’t know, look out for these red flags:
- The apparent owner or agent says there’s no need to complete a rental application.
- The person listing the home appears to have no other social media presence except for the listing.
- A self-identified real estate agent lacks a formal website, testimonials and reviews, or licensing identification.
- A person claiming to be a broker has a presence on other social media but there is no reference to real estate there.
- The person lists the home using a new account.
But sometimes, none of these red flags are apparent, because the fraud is elaborate and fake social media and business pages are created. Clearly, it’s best to work with a local real estate agent who has an office you can visit. Licensed agents can tell if a real estate listing is genuine and trustworthy. They will make sure you know who you’re actually dealing with, and that the transaction you’re getting into is safe.
It’s a very tough market out there. Whether people are looking to buy or rent, many are feeling frustrated. Fatigue and worry can cause people to make decisions in haste, without digging deep enough into the background of a listing.
If you believe you have been the target of a real estate scam, act quickly. In some cases, funds can still be recovered. Notify the police, and inform your bank.
Supporting References
Amanda Batchelor, Christina Vazquez, and Alex Finnie for WPLG Local10.com: Woman Arrested in Connection With Real Estate Scam in Miami-Dade County (updated Mar. 7, 2022).
Christina Vazquez and Amanda Batchelor for WPLG Local10.com: Three People Sought in Connection With Real Estate Scam in Homestead (updated Mar. 4, 2022).
FloridaRealtors® via Global Data Point / SyndiGate Media Inc.: Three People Sought in Real Estate Fraud Scheme (Mar. 4, 2022).
Malique Rankin for Tampa Bay 10 (CBS, St. Petersburg, Fl.): Looking to Buy or Rent? Be Wary of Social Media Scams (Oct. 20, 2021).
Liz Dominguez for RISMedia.com: Social Skills: How to Spot Real Estate Scams (Dec. 1, 2020).
National Association of REALTORS®: Multiple Listing Service (MLS): What Is It?
Joel Maxson for FloridaRealtors®: Scam Alert – Be on the Lookout for Fake Sellers (Oct. 28, 2021).
And as linked.
Photo credits: Cottonbro and Ketut Subiyanto, via Pexels.