Not for sale: Scammers target vacant properties in DC region

Many have grown accustomed to doing things remotely since the pandemic, including thieves.

A Montgomery County family was shocked recently to learn a property it owned since the 1970s was listed for sale – but not by them.

“Sure enough, there it was, our property, my family’s property with a for sale sign online," Jim told the News4 I-Team. (News4 is not using his real name to protect his family’s identity.)

The two-acre lot sits along a peaceful road in Potomac, Maryland, lush with trees and bushes. According to the listing, it was “a unique opportunity to own and build your own beautiful home” on the vacant lot.

"They wanted all cash, which presumably means you avoid having a lender scrutiny involved,” said Jim.

So, if Jim’s family wasn’t selling it, who was?

"Once we saw who the actual listing agent was, we picked up the phone, and I asked a couple of quick questions about the listing and that prompted him to quickly say, ‘Well, who are you? Who is this?’"

After Jim and his family met with the agent and provided documentation proving his parents were the rightful owners, the realtor realized he had been duped.

It was a close call. Jim shared a text chain with the I-Team between the realtor and the imposter.

The realtor wrote, “We have an excellent offer in hand that requires a response from you.”

The scammer responded, “Kindly lock down the offer, as long as it’s a cash offer and closing date is a short period.”

"They had no intention of ever meeting in person to set things up,” Jim said.

Fortunately, the sale didn't go through after the scammer ghosted the realtor, who was pushing for a photo ID to be emailed.

How they do it

The I-Team has documented several incidents like this around the area.

"Primarily they're targeting properties that are not monitored regularly by the people who own the property,” said Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy. "Quick in, quick out. They forge documents, usually driver's licenses and things like that with pictures. They mine off the Internet, send them in and say, this is me."

The criminals find targets by scouring public records for properties with no mortgage or liens. They research the real owners, often pulling information from social media or public records to create falsified documents. Then they contact a realtor posing as the seller, refusing to sign closing documents in person.

The elaborate scheme has even caught the eye of the U.S. Secret Service agents at Global Investigative Operations Center.

"We started seeing these vacant land scams or seller impersonation scams going back to last fall and then increasing ever since," financial fraud investigator Stephen Dougherty said.

People have lost their property. In Fairfield, Connecticut, neighbors were shocked to see a $1.5 million house built on land that sat vacant for decades. But not as shocked as the actual owner.

Blame it on COVID

Experts say COVID-19 made the scam possible. During the pandemic, many transactions were done remotely, not in person, including home sales.

Businesses got good at it and so did criminals.

"I think people have gotten psychologically a little bit more comfortable with doing more business at a distance,” said Matt Troiani with the National Association of Realtors.

Troiani said remote transactions are here to stay. That's why his organization is warning members about the scam and telling them to be extra vigilant.

"If the property is for sale and you've never met the seller, maybe what you do is you send a certified letter to the actual address on the tax records for the actual owners,” said Troiani.

Investigators said, while there are local scammers, most of the phony owners are operating overseas.

"It is highly organized,” Dougherty said. “You need people to launder your money. You need people to be doing your research in terms of the properties that you want to attack.”

Jim said there were red flags with the ad for his family's Potomac property. It was listed for way less than the actual value of the property, and the realtor admitted all their conversations were done by text.

Protect against the scam

There are some things you can do to protect yourself, especially if you have vacant property that’s been sitting there for a while.

Jim signed up for Google alerts for the targeted address and asked the regional listing service to flag his property.

Make it a habit to routinely check the records of the property – perhaps when paying taxes – to make sure all the information is accurate.

The I-Team tried the phone numbers associated with the fake ads, but the person simply hung up.

Just weeks after that fake listing was pulled, Jim had another surprise: Another listing for his family’s property popped up online, this time with a different realtor

"I called him up, had to explain the same thing, and I think it was he who expressed some degree of surprise or frustration that he says, ‘Well, I guess this means maybe I’m going to have to ask for a photo ID for all my listings now.’"

Reported by Susan Hogan; produced by Rick Yarborough; shot by Steve Jones, Carlos Olazagasti and Jeff Piper; and edited by Jeff Piper.