{"id":7313,"date":"2022-11-15T15:07:09","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T21:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nwfl4sale.com\/nw-fla-fake-sellers-fool-some-re-agents\/"},"modified":"2022-11-15T15:07:09","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T21:07:09","slug":"nw-fla-fake-sellers-fool-some-re-agents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nwfl4sale.com\/nw-fla-fake-sellers-fool-some-re-agents\/","title":{"rendered":"NW Fla.: Fake Sellers Fool Some RE Agents"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Sandi Kemp<\/div><\/div>\n
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A referral \u201cseller\u201d uses fake IDs to prove they own a property and then ask an agent to list it for sale. The usual targets: Out-of-state owners without a mortgage.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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CRESTVIEW, Fla. \u2013 Financial advisors rave about paying off debt, but sometimes being debt-free is being vulnerable. As more real estate transactions are being completed by email or overnight mail, without sellers meeting buyers in person, it\u2019s become easier for criminals to target vacant lots owned by absentee or non-local owners.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Recently, a vacant Navarre Beach lot was sold without the knowledge of the owner. The lot didn\u2019t have a mortgage and the owner lived out of state.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

An imposter seller went through a referral company and reached a Realtor in Fort Walton Beach. The imposter seller claimed there were family issues and the lot needed to be sold in two weeks with a cash deal. The Realtor received copies of driver\u2019s licenses and social security cards from the imposter sellers that looked credible.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The eventual buyer of this property saw the land become available and jumped on the deal and took money out of retirement funds to \u201cmake it happen.\u201d Within two weeks, the land was closed on, the commission check went to the Realtor and the Realtor showed up at closing with a bottle of wine saying, \u201cThis is the easiest deal I\u2019ve ever closed on \u2013 except for the seller\u2019s thick accent,\u201d according to the buyer.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The buyer put in a variance request with the county and had no idea that the sale was not legitimate. However, everything started to unravel almost two weeks later when they received a phone call from the real owner who had been notified by Scott Parsons of Navarre\u2019s Reliable Land Title, that the property had been sold.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Luckily, due to a hiccup with the wire transfer to the fraudulent seller, red flags appeared, and Parsons started trying to find the seller by phone numbers other than what the real estate agent provided. Parsons was able to recover all funds for the buyer, who was also a Navarre Beach property owner. Parsons even reimbursed the buyer for ancillary fees that were not recoverable.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While similar, the actions are not considered identity theft because the imposters did not have access or use the victim\u2019s actual account and identification numbers. This attempted crime would not have been stopped in its tracks by services such as \u201cHome Title Lock.\u201d The title lock service would only catch this crime after the fact. According to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff\u2019s Office, if the transaction had gone through, it would be a matter for state and federal government. \u201cThe goal is always recovery,\u201d a department spokesman said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This type of fraud can be prevented if all parties involved in the transaction remain skeptical. A similar fraud was attempted a few weeks ago on Pensacola Beach. According to the Realtor involved, they received a future client through a referral agency, similar to the Navarre Beach case, though the specific referral agency has not been revealed. When the Realtor contacted the fraudulent seller from the referral, he was very well spoken but was eager to get started. \u201cLet\u2019s do this,\u201d he said..<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Realtor was immediately skeptical because the fraudulent seller never asked what the market was like, or the commission that would be charged.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Realtor searched the area where the real property owner was living and found three different families with the same last name. She contacted them and left messages to make sure they were one and the same as the person that had contacted her. In the meantime, the Realtor contacted the fraudulent seller and asked him to send his driver\u2019s license, adding \u201cThere is a lot of fraud going on.\u201d He didn\u2019t flinch and immediately sent his driver\u2019s license. The Realtor didn\u2019t hear back from any of the messages she had left earlier, so the Realtor listed the property.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Within 24 hours, the Realtor received a call from a family member.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was told that I had no right to list their property.\u201d The Realtor told the family member that she had been sent what was supposed to be her husband\u2019s driver\u2019s license. \u201cShe asked me to describe her husband and verify the eye color,\u201d said the Realtor. In the end, the Realtor convinced what turned out to be the true owner\u2019s wife to send a copy of her husband\u2019s driver\u2019s license. The Realtor took both licenses to a Sheriff\u2019s Department annex where they verified that one was an imposter, and the real owner was the driver\u2019s license that the wife sent the Realtor.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that was the end of it,\u201d said the Realtor. \u201cThe Sheriff\u2019s department said I could be talking to someone in Russia. They didn\u2019t want to pursue it further. I just quit answering texts and emails and took the property off the Multiple Listing System (MLS). \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Pensacola Beach case was caught early by an astute Realtor. In the Navarre Beach case, the Realtor seemed to be blindsided by a quick and easy sale for a premium lot below market value and missed all the warning signs. The buyer of the Navarre Beach property was very disappointed that it was, in the end, not a legitimate sale, but feels fortunate to receive their money back.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt one point, fingers started pointing at us as if we should have known better because the lot was undervalued. You can\u2019t blame us for jumping on a deal. I thought I was dealing with a licensed professional who should have done their homework. I knew more about the property than the Realtor did,\u201d said the buyer.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In both instances, the Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Escambia Sheriff\u2019s departments did not want to pursue the leads because, \u201cfunds had been recovered or never exchanged hands.\u201d However, since Navarre Press\u2019s inquiries, the Santa Rosa Sheriff\u2019s Department has referred the evidence collected by Navarre\u2019s Reliable Land Title\u2019s owner, Scott Parsons, to the Major Crimes Division.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Moving forward, Parsons is investing in a paid service that will verify the seller\u2019s identity and make sure the seller is communicating via computer and phone from the United States. The service also asks the seller a series of questions that only they would know, such as addresses they formally resided at, and models of cars they have owned. The service will also check the wire transfer information and make sure the money is going to the correct person.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all in this together. Everyone needs to keep their eyes open. Everyone had an opportunity to catch the Navarre Beach deal before it got to the point of a wire transfer \u2013 us included,\u201d said Parsons.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In Parsons\u2019s after-action report, he stated several observations and warning flags that surfaced:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n