If you advertise a property: most common types of fraud

As we have already discussed in other articles, buying or selling a house is a serious situation for anyone. In many cases, this operation means disposing of a lifetime's savings. Just as we have indicated which are the most common frauds when buying a property, here we show you which are the most frequent when you publish the notice of sale of your house or apartment. Pirate ads

Some scammers hijack listings of properties for sale. What are they doing? They change the contact information (address, email, phone, and any other information) and publish the adulterated ad in another newspaper or website. Also, they appropriate the images and information published in original notices. With this, they seek to move forward with the operation, even trying to keep a guarantee or reserve on the property in question.

It is known that properties have been sold without investors having stepped on the apartment or house they were buying. This happens most of the time, with investments made by foreigners. Ghost Rentals Scammers make up bargain listings, taking data and photos of properties for sale.

They try to attract customers with lower prices than those offered in original offers to anticipate the operation and keep the money of those interested in the purchase. This type of scam seeks, at least, to keep the guarantee or reservation deposit of the rent. That said, it is critical to identify the apparent signs that we are facing a scam. For that, we must take special care when sending money orders or money transfers.

This also applies to security deposits. For now: if we are not sure of the operation, we should not send money of any kind. A deception that occurs many times has to do with saying that "the owners are out of the country." This type of scam always includes an "attorney" acting on behalf of the property owner. This type of deception contains all kinds of tricks, including forging the keys.

In this context, we suggest: if you are not sure who is the apartment owner, do not move forward with the operation. It is also essential to check the property titles and any other document that certifies that the person in question owns the house or apartment. This is just part of the sad story of fraud when it comes to buying a property.

For now, and in summary, it is essential to be careful with the following:

• - If you are contacted by a person who offers you a considerable sum of money, in exchange for you being the one who pays the transfer fees.
• - A potential tenant offers to make an immediate transfer for the deposit, but an amount more significant than the agreed upon.
• This is known as check fraud.
• - A person interested in buying a property, without visiting it offers to pay immediately in cash or travel to another nearby city to complete the operation.