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  • Geebo 9:00 am on December 7, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: deed transfer, , grieving, mourning, ,   

    Scammer tried to steal homes of grieving families 

    Scammer tried to steal homes of grieving families

    By Greg Collier

    It wasn’t more than two weeks ago where we posted what, we thought, was the lowest scam we’ve ever heard of. That was when scammers were selling funeral plots to grieving families when the scammers didn’t own the plots in the first place. Now, we may have found one that is possibly even lower than that.

    An Indianapolis man was recently indicted on 16 separate federal charges. The suspect is believed to have targeted grieving families after finding their deceased loved one’s name in the obituaries. For two years, he’s believed to have tried to force these grieving families into selling their homes.

    As per the county prosecutor’s office, the accused tried to coerce the sale of a homeowner’s property, camouflaged a $50,000 bank loan, and employed forged heirship documentation.

    In one instance, the suspect is accused of forging a sales agreement to force a woman in a nursing home to sell her home to him. In another instance, the suspect is accused of forcing a woman with short-term memory loss to lend him $50,000 with no intention of paying it back.

    Scammers often target victims who are in a state of emotional crisis. The goal here is to pressure the victim into making a decision that benefits the scammer, that often appears as a way to help the victim.

    While these scams may have been isolated to the Indianapolis area, it probably won’t be long before someone else tries it while thinking they can do it better.

    Since this is somewhat uncharted territory, we don’t have any concrete ways of protecting yourself from such a scammer. However, we do have some suggestions. If you’re still mourning the loss of a loved one, take as much time as you need to grieve. If you feel like someone is pressuring you into making a financial situation during that time, research whatever they’re offering when you’re ready to. If you have a parent who lost their spouse, and they also have cognitive disabilities, you may want to look into assuming guardianship or power of attorney. While it may appear to them that you’re taking away some of their freedoms, it may protect them in the long run.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 13, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: deed transfer, , ,   

    Scammer sells own father’s house out from under him 

    By Greg Collier

    A man from the Houston, Texas, area is currently on the run from the law after failing to appear for his court appearance. The suspect had been arrested for allegedly selling properties that didn’t belong to him, including one that belonged to his father.

    The suspect’s father allowed his son to stay at the father’s condo. The suspect forged the documents necessary to put the house in his name before selling the condo, and keeping the money for himself. This incident is said to be when the suspect realized he could sell other properties he didn’t own.

    The suspect was able to con his way into transferring the ownership of at least two multi-million dollar properties into his name. According to reports, the suspect would forge deeds and notary signatures in order to steal the properties. The plan was to sell the properties for pennies on the dollar before the actual owners could find out. Properties that had no financial liens on them were said to be the suspect’s main targets.

    A realtor became suspicious when one of their clients was trying to buy a $5 million property for less than half of the market value. This property was being sold by the suspect, which he didn’t actually own. When the realtor contacted police, they found the suspect was trying to sell another property he didn’t own.

    Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. We’ve posted before about victims who were told to leave their homes after scammers submitted forged deeds to the county showing they were the new owners. We’ve also shared stories about vacant lots being targeted in similar scams. If you own a property outright, you may want to pay attention to scams like this.

    Thankfully, there is a way to protect yourself. It’s recommended you go to your county appraiser’s website regularly to monitor the ownership of your property. If your county appraiser does not have a website, you can go to their office. Some counties even have a program where you can be alerted if anything changes on your deed.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on October 30, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: deed transfer, , fake notary, ,   

    How to lose your home to a scammer without even trying 

    How to lose your home to a scammer without even trying

    By Greg Collier

    You would think it must be pretty difficult for someone to steal your home out from under you without you noticing. However, it might be easier than you’d imagine.

    A homeowner from St. Louis recently lost ownership of her house to a scammer she never even met. Allegedly, a man went to the Recorder of Deeds with a quitclaim deed which said the homeowner turned the house over to the man for no cost. The man even presented a notarized deed that indicated the homeowner was present when the supposed deal was made. Except, the notary who is said to have officiated over the transfer doesn’t even exist. There is no record of this notary being licensed in Missouri.

    You might assume that once the error was caught, the deed transfer would be cancelled, but the Recorder of Deeds office claims they did nothing wrong. They say it’s not their job to make sure the notary on the deed is licensed. Their excuse is they have 60,000 documents they process in a year, and it’s not their requirement to check each notary.

    Suffice to say, the homeowner is suing both the man who claimed the deed and the Recorder of Deeds office.

    This type of title scam can occur in various locations. We would like to emphasize that while we wish we could provide a foolproof method to shield yourself from such a scam, the effectiveness of protection depends on your place of residence. Certain counties in the US have implemented a program that alerts homeowners via email if any documents bearing their name concerning their property appear in county offices. Unfortunately, not every county offers this service.

    If you have concerns about falling victim to such a scam, it’s advisable to investigate whether your county has a comparable program in place. If not, you may want to consider reaching out to your county authorities and suggesting the implementation of such a safeguard.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on March 24, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: deed transfer, , , ,   

    Forged deed costs man his home 

    Forged deed costs man his home

    By Greg Collier

    Almost two weeks ago, we brought you the story of a man who was conned into signing over to someone who sold the home out from under him. But what if we told you your house could be sold without you even signing anything? That’s precisely what happened to a man in New Orleans.

    Much like the man from our previous story, this man lived in the home with his mother. After she passed away, he started renovating his home. While he was putting money into home improvements, someone forged the deed to his home and sold the man’s house.

    This wasn’t just a simple case of forging one signature to get possession of the home, either. Not only did the scammer forge the homeowners name, but the names of a notary and several witnesses were also forged. Additionally, the notary’s stamp was forged as well.

    One might assume that since both the homeowner and notary attest their signatures were forged, the man would be getting the deed to his home returned. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The homeowner is in the middle of legal proceedings to have the ownership of his home returned to him, and the legal costs to do so are not cheap.

    This kind of title scam could happen anywhere. We wish we could say there was an ironclad way to protect yourself from such a scam, but it depends on where you live. Some of the Parishes in Louisiana have a program where if the Parish receives any documentation bearing the homeowner’s name appears in their offices about their property, the homeowner will receive an email alert about it. Several counties across the U.S. have this service also, but not every county does.

    If you’re concerned about being scammed like this, check to see if your county has a program like this. If they don’t, consider getting in touch with your county and recommend it to them.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on March 13, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: deed transfer, , ,   

    Elderly man signed away house for $10, now faces eviction 

    By Greg Collier

    As we’re sure you’re aware of, we typically discuss scams on this blog. However, today’s story doesn’t meet the legal requirement of being called a scam, but can still serve as a warning to those who may find themselves in a similar position.

    A 66-year-old man living on the east coast of Florida lost his mother in 2020. He took her passing very hard and got behind on his mortgage payments. With the real estate market being what it is, the bank started to foreclose on the home.

    Not knowing what to do, the man reached out to an acquaintance for help. The acquaintance allegedly told the man that he would take over the mortgage payments while allowing the man to live in his home. The man then signed a deed which transferred ownership to the acquaintance for $10. However, unknown to the man, the deed gave the acquaintance the right to sell the home if he chose to.

    Eventually, the acquaintance did sell the home, stating the home was too much of a headache. The acquaintance sold the house to a real estate investor. The investor flipped the house by selling it to a New York company for $185,000. Meanwhile, the elderly man not only got nothing out of the sale of his home, but was also being evicted from the home he owned for 23 years.

    The man’s neighbors say that the man is mentally challenged and was taken advantage of by all parties involved. Unfortunately, the courts have ruled that everything was legal, and the eviction can move forward. Meanwhile, the man is trying to sell some of his mother’s possessions to make a little money.

    When dealing with any transaction that involves your home, you should have an attorney look over the paperwork before signing anything. If you can’t afford an attorney, some attorneys give free consultations, or you can reach out to a local law school to see if they have a program where students give free legal advice. There are also some non-profits known as legal aid societies that provide legal help to low-income families and individuals.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 13, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: deed transfer, , ,   

    Deed scam tries to scare homeowners 

    By Greg Collier

    Homeowners in the Nashville, Tennessee area have been receiving some disturbing letters in the mail recently. Just imagine receiving a letter in the mail that says the deed to your property has been transferred to someone else and the transfer has been recorded with your county’s deeds office. Thankfully, the letters are part of a scam, but they’re designed to get the homeowner to panic.

    The letters appear to come from the local County Register of Deeds office. They go on to state the homeowner can obtain a copy of the supposed new deed by paying a fee to a supposed service in Florida. So, not only are the scammers hoping on getting an $89 payment from their victims, but if a victim pays by debit or credit card, the scammers will have their financial information as well.

    This scam preys on the fear of another scam where people have lost ownership of their own homes. Previously, some homeowners have been tricked into signing over the deed to their homes to a scammer. The scammer tells them they can avoid being foreclosed on if they sign the deed over to a third party. This typically results in the homeowner being evicted from their home by the scammers.

    In a similar scam, scammers have sent phony tax forms to homeowners asking them to fill the forms out. The scammers then use the information taken from these forms to try to get the deed reassigned to the scammer.

    If you receive a letter like this, the first thing you should do is contact your county deeds office to see if there is any legitimacy to the letter. In some counties, including Tennessee’s Davidson County, where you can sign up for property alerts. This way you can be notified if any action is being taken against your property.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 2, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: deed transfer, , , monkeypox, ,   

    Scam Round Up: New virus scams and more 

    Scam Round Up: New virus scams and more

    By Greg Collier

    Once again, we’re bringing our readers three stories about scams that can either be told quickly or are reminders of past scams.

    ***

    We often don’t think about locksmiths until we’ve been locked out of our home or locked the keys in our cars. These instances can produce a panicked situation that scammers are more than willing to take advantage of. According to a warning from the Better Business Bureau of New England, scammers are impersonating legitimate locksmiths to lull victims into a false sense of security. Victims will be quoted a price before the locksmith scammer adds exorbitant fees once the service is done. Often the work will also be shoddy if you have the locks replaced by them.

    To avoid being scammed, avoid locksmiths who don’t use a company name when answering the phone. You can also ask to see an invoice and their identification before they start working. You may also want to research your local locksmiths before you have to choose one in a panic.

    ***

    A couple in Ohio nearly lost their home after falling prey to some false county records that were mailed to their home. They received a letter that appeared to come from the county tax office that said there were problems with their property tax and needed to fill out and return some forms. The forms were sent to them by a scammer who was looking to steal their house out from under them by using the documents the couple signed to reassign ownership of the house to himself. The scammer even showed up at their house telling them to leave, saying it was his house now. Thankfully, after police got involved, the couple were able to straighten everything out with the county.

    If you receive anything in the mail about your property tax claiming there is an issue, call the tax office to verify if there is an actual issue before signing anything.

    ***

    Even though monkeypox isn’t spreading nearly as fast as COVID-19 did, scammers are trying to take advantage of any potential fear of the new virus. It’s believed there will be monkeypox scams that are almost exact duplicates of COVID-19 scams. According to law enforcement in Virginia, residents there have been receiving emails that contain links to ‘mandatory safety awareness training’ for monkeypox. However, if you click on one of the links, you’re taken to a website that asks for your Microsoft login. This is not a Microsoft website and is only looking to steal your credentials.

    As always, when it comes to safety information about any outbreak, you should always check with your county’s health department for additional information.

    If you’d like to learn more about scams like this, you can review the COVID-19 scams that we’ve previously posted about.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 24, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: deed transfer, , , ,   

    Be careful when seeking out foreclosure help 

    Be careful when seeking out foreclosure help

    With so many Americans out of work, many homeowners are having trouble making their mortgage payments. To try to keep from being evicted from their own home, some will look to so-called mortgage relief companies for assistance. Many of these companies you may see advertised through things like mailers and street fliers are not companies at all. Rather they are scammers looking to take advantage of struggling homeowners at what could be their lowest point.

    In many cases, scammers will try to get you to sign the deed of your property over to a third party. Then the homeowner is given the option to stay in the home while paying rent to the deed holder. All too often in these cases, the deed holder will be charged an astronomical rent or price the house out of reach of the original homeowner. In either case, the original homeowner could still find themselves evicted from their home. In other instances of this scam, sometimes the deed will have never been transferred. So not only will the homeowner be evicted but they’ll still be responsible for the mortgage amount.

    A different scam involves scammers calling homeowners and claiming they can help lower your mortgage payment. However, they’ll only offer this assistance if you pay a substantial fee in gift cards. These fictitious fees could be in the thousands of dollars. As we often like to remind people, no legitimate company or agency will ever ask you for payment in gift cards. Scammers often ask for gift cards because once the funds are removed from the card they become virtually untraceable.

    Instead of going to one of these potentially bogus companies, it is instead recommended that you work with your lender to see if their loan can be restructured in some way to help reduce payments. Homeowners also have the option of trying to sell their home on their own in order to pay off the mortgage.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on May 5, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: deed transfer, , , , , ,   

    Scammers are using stimulus check confusion against you 

    Scammers are using stimulus check confusion against you

    The scammers are still at it during this crisis. Here are a few more scams that are using the coronavirus pandemic to their advantage.

    There is still a lot of consumer confusion around the delivery of the economic impact payments, or as they’re better known stimulus checks. The scammers are taking advantage of this confusion to try to steal your identity. Some reports say that scammers are sending out emails that look like they’ve officially come from your bank. The emails offer to give you the status of your stimulus check but instead, they take you to a link that asks for your personal information. As of right now, the only place where you can find out the status of your stimulus payment is from the IRS’s Get My Payment website. If the IRS needs to contact you, they will send you a letter through the regular mail.

    Another scam we just recently heard of is the deed transferring scam. It seems that scammers are telling people struggling with their mortgage payments to transfer their deed to a third-party. The scammers say that this will allow the homeowner to no longer be responsible for their mortgage payments. This is false. In reality, the new deed holder could potentially evict you from your own home. In turn, this could cost the homeowner untold costs in legal fees for just trying to stay in their own home.

    Lastly for today, there are reports coming out of the state of Washington about a new porch pirate scheme. Investigators there say that a group of porch pirates are dressing up as nurses to try to take your deliveries without being questioned by authorities. We assume that the trick here is that in many states there are still stay at home orders and medical staff are considered essential workers and no one would question a nurse being out during the quarantine. Most delivery services have options where you can be notified when your delivery arrives. If you enact these options you’ll have a better idea when to bring your deliveries inside and foil the porch pirates’ plans.

     

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