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Be Aware Con Artists Target Real Estate for their Next Fraudulent Scam!3-19-2009When times are bad and money is more difficult to earn these days the scam artists come out of the woodwork needing a paycheck. One of many real estate scams that are hitting the nation is identity theft. Scam artists will get your information from your trash and recycle, from phishing on-line, stealing your mail or your wallet. They will then take out mortgages in your name and fraudulently sign the paperwork and leave with your equity in your home after they've transferred the deed over to them without your knowledge. Do you know anyone that cannot sell their home and has to rent it out? Well landlords need to be very cautious who they rent to. Make sure the renters are not using your home as a location to scam you or others. Check on your property regularly, make sure they are who they say they are and work with your neighbors of that home so if they notice anything strange going on they will work with you. Another scam going around right now is for lenders or mortgage brokers to offer loans to customers and then get the person to pay an out of pocket fee for service. An upfront fee is very unusual. Another big scam is involving relocation companies. You may contact a moving company or get solicited by a moving company that sole's purpose is to get your stuff and sell it. Make sure you ask to see a copy of their insurance policy, ask how long they have been in business, ask for a reference and get a detailed estimate of work to be performed. You need to make sure they are legitimate. This same advice should be used when working with a contractor. Anyone who may have to access your home should be flagged. Here are some helpful items to remember: never keep your social security card and or birth certificate in your wallet. Never respond to an e-mail from your bank and never pay in advance for a loan or loan fees, be very leery of wiring money and whenever someone tries to initiate a conversation with you document the conversation very well and never give out your personal identifiable information. If they say they are from your bank, then simply hang up and you call your bank to make sure your bank really is trying to get a hold of you. If it was not your bank make sure to record the phone number, call the police and let your bank know too. If something does not seem right than it's probably not. Life is tough enough, don't be a victim from these pathetic desperate people!
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