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Cybercrime and Real Estate – Five Scams to Know About

Posted On Friday, 17 February 2023 17:51

Buying a house can be tricky, challenging, and at the end of the process, super rewarding. 

Whether you have bought and sold your way up the property ladder or are investing in your first home, you can still fall victim to real estate cybercrime. 

In 2021, the FBI’s Internet Crime Report recorded over 50,000 cases of identity theft and a further 11,578 instances of real estate and rental fraud. Criminals want to get your identity, your money, and even your property, so you need to protect yourself. 

We’re going to look at five of the most common real estate scams you could face and give you tips on how to avoid them. 

#1. Phishing scams

You are probably familiar with phishing attacks – emails pretending to be companies or government agencies asking for your personal details.

Your property isn’t immune to these types of issues. An email claiming to be from your real estate agent, property manager, or even mortgage company could be the first step to all kinds of disasters. 

#2. Online identity theft

There are a lot of things a scammer can do once they steal your identity online. This can include taking out property loans or apartment leases in your name, leaving you liable for defaulted payments, and potentially ruining your credit score. 

A hacker can place software on your computer that monitors your keystrokes, which can give them access to your financial details and even your passwords. They can even hack into your hard drive and look at the records you have stored there, allowing them to pretend to be you. 

#3. Home title theft

Once your identity has been stolen, a very real threat is home title, or deed theft. This can happen in several ways and ends up with you losing your property. 

Scammers will find a property they want to target and use a mix of information they stole from you online and some fake documents to change the title deed. You may not realize this has happened for a long time, and by that time, you’ve lost everything. 

#4. Escrow wire fraud 

When going through a house purchase, you’re likely going to need to place cash in an escrow account. While this is a completely normal part of the process, hackers and scammers are ready to take advantage of it. 

You can receive an email giving you the information of where to send your escrow payment that’s not legitimate. Once the money is sent, you may not get it back, and you can lose the house you had your heart set on. 

#5. Fake rentals

Rent growth in the US was 3.3% year on year in February 2023 – the market is strong and continues to grow. This makes it an easy target for online crime, too. 

Fake listings will be posted on social media or places like Craigslist. When renters desperate to move in a fast-paced market make contact, they’re asked to make a payment to see the – usually non-existent – apartment or house or to pay the rental deposit upfront. 

How to protect yourself from online property fraud

These scams can sound scary and cost you a lot of cash and even your home. It is a good idea to stay vigilant and take steps to protect your data and your property. 

  1. 1. Be skeptical – when you receive an email claiming to be from your mortgage company, real estate broker, or escrow provider, check all the details out. If you’re in any doubt, call the company directly on a number you’ve used for them before. 
  2. 2. Get a VPN free download – a VPN can mask the location you browse from, so hackers can’t find your home or neighborhood by monitoring your online activity. It will also protect someone accessing your data when you connect to a public WiFi network.
  3. 3. Keep an eye on your mail – scammers can change names on your bills in the process of stealing your title deed, so be sure to notice when bills don’t land. Even consider moving all your bills to paperless so a scammer can’t intercept them. 
  4. 4. Stay updated – dodgy software makes it on to your devices when hackers find security vulnerabilities. Whenever your phone, tablet, or computer says it needs to update, do it as soon as possible to prevent hackers from getting your details. 

Cybercrime and real estate

Your home is likely the biggest investment you will ever make. You need to protect it and yourself throughout the buying process and once you have it in your possession as well. 

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