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FILE PHOTO (Photo by: Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
(KRON) — Alameda District Attorney Pamela Price’s Real Estate Fraud Unit is warning residents of an ongoing scheme in which a fraudster impersonates the owner of a vacant lot to sell property that wasn’t theirs quickly at a discounted rate. The DA made the announcement on Tuesday.
According to the DA, a real estate agent was duped into working on selling a $1.1 million property in Oakland. The fraudster had contacted the real estate agent, claiming he was dying of cancer at a facility in Texas and that he needed to sell the Oakland property at nearly half of the listing price to “spare his wife,” the DA said.
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The exact discounted price asked by the fraudster was $560,000. Price said the real estate agent did all the work and communication over the phone since the fraudster claimed he was gravely ill and out of the state.
Despite never meeting, the real estate agent found out about the scheme 11 days before a deal was closed when the escrow officer researched where the rightful owners lived and contacted them. Upon being contacted, “the owners denied any intention to sell their property,” and the transaction was canceled, the DA said.
Alameda County’s Real Estate Fraud Unit said this is not just a local issue. The unit said that this fraud scheme has been seen in other states and that buyers should be wary when buying underdeveloped properties.
“If you own vacant land in Alameda County, please be aware of this scam and keep an eye on
the title of your property,” Price said.
Price said residents can type their property’s street address on any real estate website or search engine. If an “Active Listing” appears on a resident’s property that they did not authorize, they can contact the listing agent directly or the Real Estate Fraud Department to notify them of the problem.
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