What to BEWARE OF in Property Scams!
IMPERSONATORS!
‘FAKE SELLERS’ often call a real estate agent to list property for sale that they do not own. Impersonating a property owner to list and sell property has been increasing rapidly. The eager and unaware agent lists the property and posts it for sale on MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Scammers also advertise off-market properties online. If all goes well for them and it sells fast, often below market, and an effort is made to close quickly. When the new buyer shows up at the property thinking they got a great buy they meet the real owner. Then they find out their funds were wired to a scammer’s account and are lost forever!
The real property owner still owns the property but may end up in court as their property may be tagged on the county record as having a challenged or conflicted title. The Closing Agent is left trying resolve the problem after following proper protocols.
To reduce these illegal scam practices, an owner can use PropertiesNOTforSale.com, which is designed to stop this illegal practice “AT THE SOURCE!” Discover how easy it is to instantly have Better Ownership Protection!
FAVORITE PROPERTY SCAM TARGETS
Scammers search data bases and county records for the preferred targets. Could you be one of these property Owners? If you are one of the 42 million FREE & CLEAR property owners in the U.S. see the “Properties at Risk” listed below.
Lots – Any free and clear lot in a municipality or a remote, country location can be a target as many owners don’t pay a lot of attention to them.
Duplexes, Triplexes, or 4-plexes – These are hot investor targets and sell easily, especially if they underpriced.
Single Family Homes – Easy to sell and quick closings make homes a prime target. There are lots of cash buyers in retirement markets.
Apartments – If Free and Clear any apartment complex is a perfect target as it just makes a bigger payday for the scammer.
Off-market Property – Recently we have seen more non MLS properties offered to the market. They make good targets as there are no agents with which the scammer has to be concerned.
Development Property – Tapping the investor or builder market means bigger payoffs. Many land parcels have had a For Sale sign on them for many years and are perfect resale targets at reduced prices.
Farm, Pasture or Timber Land – Remote tracts of land are valuable and a scammer can sell them quickly if priced below market.
Commercial & Industrial – Scammers have no limits as long the property is free and clear or has a lot of equity. A low mortgage can be paid off leaving a lot of equity for a scammer. Private lenders often ask fewer questions than banks regarding payoff amounts.
High Equity Properties – Any property with a low or no mortgage could be money in the bank. Usually, Free & Clear is better but private and commercial lenders have been targeted to refinance or add a second mortgage.
According to the FBI 2025 has seen the highest increase in losses reported by victims of real estate & rental scams since 2022. All types of scams and Internet-facilitated crimes should be reported.
PROPERTY SCAM STATISTICS*
FBI IC3 REPORT – Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (https://www.ic3.gov/)
Real Estate Victim’s $ Losses by Year
2025** 2024* 2023
$275,843,126 $173,586,820 $145,243,34811
FBI IC3 Formal Real Estate Complaints & Average Loss Per Person
**2025 yielded 12,368 complaints averaging $22,302.96 each for a 20.25% increase over 2024
*2024 yielded 9,359 complaints averaging $18,547.58 each for a 17.8% increase over 2023.
2024 Real Estate Crypto Currency Crimes totaled $5,900,921 for an average loss of $23,050.
2025 Real Estate Crypto Currency Crimes totaled $25,169,423 / 715 victims = $35,201.99 average loss reported.
*** 2025 Real Estate AI Crimes totaled $2,699,085 / 115 victims = $23,470.30 average loss reported.
Real Estate Victim’s $ Losses by Age
AGE 2024** 2025**
UNDER 20 $ 413,752 $ 189,875
20 – 29 $ 6,623,054 $ 7,294,459
30 – 39 $22,466,500 $ 23,316,890
40 – 49 $ 4,784,750 $ 33,724,892
50 – 59 $ 9,331,733 $ 46.373,027
Over 60 $76,324,236 $123,671,936
**FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Jul 25, 2023/2024/2025 IC3 Report
FBI WARNING!
The FBI recently warned about scams where a legitimate real estate advertisement is copied and reposted or emailed to prospects by the scammer. When a potential victim reaches out about the listing, the scammer will say they’re unable to show the property without payment because they are out of town or out of the country.
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE?
EVERYTHING! Because, somewhere in the U.S on any given day an unsuspecting property owner is being scammed out of their property equity by the bad guys. Additionally, the cost to businesses, buyers, and owners left with unpaid bills that are racked up by these scam artists can be staggering. Over $275 Million Dollars were lost last year to property scammers. Together we can make a difference through Awareness! & Transparency.
THE POWER OF AWARENESS!
Protocols have been improved and redesigned to protect property owners, but most are activated ‘AFTER’ a contract has been negotiated, signed, escrows opened and the initial deposit funds wired. Is it working? One only has to look at the additional 58.9% increase of $102 MILLION DOLLARS LOST in 2025 over 2024 to see there is a lot of work to be done. We cannot continue to tolerate this abuse and have put “THE POWER OF AWARENESS” to work, which coincides with the FBI’s statement that “More Transparency is needed!”
‘More Transparency’ is the foundation of our mission! Our goal is to make it easy to instantly validate the legitimate ownership of property for all buyers, real estate agents, title companies and attorneys! PropertiesNOTforSale.com makes it easy for anyone to verify the owner’s intent so all the different parties involved in a property transaction can complete the terms and conditions confidently. Owners are ultimately responsible for protecting and safeguarding their property equity and ownership. For that to happen in today’s high tech world we all have to do our part and be more “Proactive and Transparent!”