Scammers are targeting SLO County real estate agents, district attorney says. Here’s how
A new real estate scam has come to San Luis Obispo County, with at least seven cases of fraudsters trying to sell property they don’t own, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office said in a Tuesday news release.
According to the release, several law enforcement agencies have seen a sharp increase in reports of real estate fraud associated with the sale of vacant land and unencumbered property.
Scammers are posing as property owners and negotiating sales of vacant and lien-free properties through “a series of impersonations,” the release said.
The scam has been reported to the county multiple times since mid-April, the release said, and the District Attorney’s Office is investigating.
The District Attorney’s Office Real Estate Fraud Unit has notified countywide real estate associations, title companies and the county Clerk-Recorder’s Office.
How the scam works
The agency said scammers can identify real estate free of mortgage and other liens through public record searches. These properties often include vacant lots or rentals.
The scammer will then contact a real estate agent to list the property for sale below market value to generate interest. They will also prefer a cash buyer and quickly accept an offer.
The scammer will then refuse to sign closing documents in person and request a remote notary signing. They will then impersonate the notary and provide false documents to the title company or closing attorney.
The title company or closing attorney then transfers the profit to the scammer.
Red flags to look out for are a refusal to meet in person and only communicating electronically, the office said.
The scam is usually discovered when recording the transfer of documents with the relevant county. Property owners most affected are elderly or foreign.
The burden of verification is on the real estate and title companies, the District Attorney’s Office said.
How to protect yourself
The DA’s Office recommends that real estate agents conduct open-source research on the identity and photo of a potential seller.
The agency also urges agents to request in-person or virtual meetings, and to ask for government issued identification.
Accepting an offer below market value in exchange for receiving the payment in cash and/or closing quickly should put an agent on alert.
The agency also said real estate agents should only use trusted title companies and attorneys for the exchange of closing documents and funds.
In addition, the agency encourages property owners to check their property address using a trusted real estate site such as Zillow or Multiple Listing Service to determine whether their property has been fraudulently listed for sale.
Property owners can also search for their property’s title using the clerk-recorder’s official record search.
The agency asks anyone who finds that their property was fraudulently listed for sale or sold to contact San Luis Obispo County DA’s Office investigator Eric Vitale at 805-781-5868.
