Attorneys' Real Estate
Councils of Florida

Scam Involving Sale of Vacant Lots is Back: Don’t Get Fooled Again!

By Melissa Jay Murphy, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, The Fund

Over the last few months, the Florida real estate industry has experienced an ever-increasing volume of sales and mortgages that have been found to be fraudulent.  Most commonly, the property is vacant with no mortgage and often the lot is owned by a seller whose address shows they live in a foreign country.  The fraudster either forges a deed from the true owner to the fraudster, or just holds himself out as the true owner and then lists the property for sale (often on Zillow), for a very attractive price.  A buyer bites, the closing date is set, and if someone does not figure it out, the fraudster gets away with many thousands of dollars and no one knows until it is too late to recover the money.

In some cases, the fraud has been discovered before closing and the evil-doers were thwarted. 

Cyber Fraud Continues to Strike The Closing Process

By: Michael Rothman, Senior Manager, Legal Education, Attorneys’ Title Fund Services, LLC

Read on to learn what real estate agents need to consider. 

Cyber fraud appears in seemingly endless varieties. Consider these two:

Scenario #1. Closing agent’s net proceeds wire is fraudulently diverted. Seller directs listing agent to instruct closing agent not to turn over the keys to buyer until seller’s proceeds are confirmed received. Buyer’s lawyer responds that her client has the keys and taken possession. She further demands that closing agent promptly record the deed. Who is in the right?

Scenario #2: Closing agent’s payoff wire of seller’s mortgage is similarly stolen. However, no one learns of this fraud until weeks later, when seller receives calls from his mortgage company looking for an overdue payment. By then, buyer has long moved into the home and the deed has been recorded. Who will be responsible to pay-off the open mortgage?