Trustpilot
Loading...
Loading...Loading...
Okay, so here's what happened. I was reviewing some industry data for a project at AmeriSave the other day, and the numbers honestly made me pause mid-coffee. According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, Americans lost $16.6 billion to scammers in 2024—a 33% jump from 2023. That's billion with a “B.” And real estate? It's become one of the biggest targets for fraud.
Think about it like this. When you're buying a home, you're dealing with the largest transaction most people will make in their entire lives. You've got dozens of people involved—real estate agents, lenders, title companies, and inspectors. Everyone's exchanging sensitive information through email and text messages. And scammers know exactly how to exploit that chaos.
I remember when we acquired some of our current processes at AmeriSave, we had to completely rethink our security protocols. It wasn't just about protecting the company. It was about protecting people who were already stressed enough trying to buy a home. In my Master’s of Social Work (MSW) program, we learned about how financial stress affects families emotionally, and I've seen firsthand how devastating it is when someone loses their entire down payment to a scammer. It's not just the money—it's the dream of homeownership slipping away.
Real estate scams work because of three things: high stakes, complexity, and public information. When you're moving fast in a competitive market, it's easy to let your guard down.
Real estate fraud happens when someone uses a property transaction to steal your money or personal information. Today's scammers are sophisticated. They hack email accounts, create nearly identical fake addresses, and study your transaction so they can send messages that look completely legitimate.
Business Email Compromise scams accounted for $2.9 billion in losses in 2023. Between 2020 and 2022, victim reports of these scams increased 27%, while financial losses jumped 72%.
A lot of property information is public record. Scammers can easily find out who's buying what property, when closing is scheduled, and who's involved. They use that to insert themselves when you're expecting to send large sums of money.
First-time buyers are almost twice as likely to experience fraud compared to current mortgage holders. If you've never been through a closing, you don't know what normal looks like.
Seniors are another major target. People over 60 lost $4.8 billion to scammers in 2024 alone. Scammers target seniors with significant home equity through loan-flipping and foreclosure rescue fraud.
But honestly? Anyone can be a victim. Nearly one in four consumers received suspicious communications during their closing, and of those targeted, one in 20 became victims. You're more likely to experience real estate wire fraud than to be in a car accident.
Let me walk you through the seven most dangerous scams targeting home buyers and sellers right now.
Wire fraud is exploding right now. This is when scammers pose as your real estate agent, lender, or title company and trick you into wiring your down payment to a fraudulent account.
You're days from closing. Everything's going smoothly. Then you get an email that looks exactly like it's from your title company with "updated wire instructions." The email address might be off by one letter, but you don't catch it. You wire fifty thousand dollars. And its gone.
The median financial loss for wire fraud victims in real estate exceeds $70,000. Once money's sent, it's nearly impossible to recover.
Two-thirds of title professionals experienced empty lot scams in 2024, up from 58% in 2023.
How to Protect Yourself
Never trust wire instructions via email alone. Call your title company using a number you already have—not one in the email. Stay on the phone while you complete the transfer.
At AmeriSave, we emphasize secure communication throughout the process. If something feels off, trust that instinct.
Foreclosure relief scams target homeowners struggling to keep their homes. Scammers pose as companies or attorneys promising to help you avoid foreclosure in exchange for upfront payment.
They claim "special relationships" with lenders or guarantee they can save your home. Then they take your money and disappear.
Many legitimate foreclosure assistance programs are free through HUD-approved counseling agencies. Scammers charge people for help they could get for nothing.
Warning Signs
If someone contacts you unsolicited offering foreclosure help, be cautious. Never pay upfront fees before services are provided. Check your state's bar association to verify attorney credentials.
Contact your mortgage servicer directly using the number on your billing statement. HUD-approved counseling is free at https://www.hud.gov or 800-569-4287.
Loan-flipping targets seniors with significant home equity. Scammers posing as lenders convince you to refinance repeatedly. Each time, they charge elevated fees, high rates, and expensive closing costs. Your equity gets drained and payments skyrocket.
Warning signs include lenders insisting you must refinance urgently, pressure to cash out equity you don't need, and deals that seem too complicated to explain.
Protection Strategy
Review all terms carefully before refinancing. Bring a trusted friend or advisor to closing if you're uncertain. At AmeriSave, we provide clear breakdowns of all refinancing costs including break-even timelines.
Ask yourself: Do I actually need to refinance? If you refinanced six months ago, another refi probably doesn't make sense unless rates dropped dramatically.
"Is your house for sale?" I get these texts on my Louisville house every few weeks. While some real estate investors legitimately use this approach, many unsolicited offers are scams.
Scammers pose as cash buyers but their real goal is accessing your bank information or personal details.
How to Handle Them
If you're actually selling, work with a trusted real estate agent who can screen buyers. If selling yourself:
The Better Business Bureau reported a 45% increase in fraud complaints over two years.
Some scammers pose as licensed inspectors. They rush through inspections, skip major areas, or intentionally hide issues.
Verifying Your Inspector
Always verify credentials independently. Interview them beforehand:
Be wary if inspectors seem evasive, promise reports without accessing hard-to-reach areas, or rush the process.
At AmeriSave, we encourage all buyers to attend their home inspection—it's one of the best learning experiences.
Rental scams have exploded. The FBI reported a 64% surge over three years. More than 10,000 cases opened in 2023 alone.
Scammers post fake listings using attractive photos and low prices. In a Rently survey, 88% of victims found fraudulent listings on Facebook, 12% on Craigslist.
Before discovering scams, 70% of victims paid security deposits and 59% paid application fees.
Spotting Rental Scams
Title fraud puts your actual ownership at risk. Scammers steal personal information through breaches or phishing, then forge documents to transfer your property title.
Once they control the title, they take out loans against your home or attempt to sell it—without your knowledge.
Real estate wire fraud losses grew from under $9 million in 2015 to $446 million in 2022.
Protecting Against Title Fraud
Monitor property records through your county recorder's office. Watch for:
Consider title monitoring services or identity theft protection with property monitoring.
Let me give you a practical protection plan.
Verify credentials for everyone:
Real Estate Agents:
Lenders:
Title Companies:
Only share sensitive data with verified professionals. When working with online lenders like AmeriSave:
If someone asks for payment before delivering services, that's a red flag.
Warning signs:
If you receive sudden requests to change wire instructions, stop. Call using a verified number. Stay on the phone while confirming details.
The FBI reports last-minute wire instruction changes are scammers' most common tactic.
Keep records of:
Don't talk to the person you think is a scammer anymore.
Call your bank right away if you sent money by wire. In 2023, the FBI froze $538.39 million of $758.05 million in fake transfers. That's a 71% success rate, but speed is very important.
If you gave out personal information, you should start credit freezes with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
The company that handles your mortgage (the number on your bill)
Local police for a police report
The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center is at ic3.gov.
Office of the State Attorney General
The site where you found the listing
If you have a dispute, call your credit card company right away. Credit cards offer the best protection.
Call your bank if you need to use a debit card, wire transfer, or check.
If you think you've been scammed, you can report it to the fraud departments of PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, or CashApp.
If you have cryptocurrency, get in touch with your exchange. There is little chance of recovery, but paperwork is important.
Let me be honest. Being a victim of a scam is not only bad for your money, it's also bad for your mental health. We talked about financial trauma and how it makes people feel less safe in my MSW program.
If you've been cheated:
You aren't dumb
Scammers are experts
Every year, thousands of careful people are hurt.
It's normal to feel angry or ashamed
You might want to talk to a counselor. Many employee assistance programs offer free counseling for a short time.
We at AmeriSave are very serious about stopping fraud. There are many security features on our digital platform that protect your home buying process.
We only work with title companies that have been checked out and follow strict security rules. Our loan officers have been trained to spot signs of fraud and help customers confirm communications.
When you apply with AmeriSave, you send us your documents through our secure portal instead of regular email. We use multi-factor authentication and encryption. We flag anything that looks suspicious right away.
We teach our customers about common scams and how to spot them. Our loan officers tell you what real communications should look like and tell you to double-check anything that seems strange.
One of the best ways to protect yourself is to work with a lender you can trust. Visit https://www.amerisave.com to find out more about AmeriSave's safe mortgage process.
Real estate scams are getting smarter, but you can still protect yourself. You can greatly lower your risk by learning how these scams work and taking some simple steps.
The main ideas are:
Before sending money, double-check the wire instructions with numbers you trust.
Hire professionals who are licensed
Don't ever pay for properties you haven't seen.
Don't trust offers that come out of nowhere or changes that happen at the last minute.
Keep personal information safe, like cash
Trust your gut if something doesn't feel right. Real professionals will never make you feel bad for asking questions or push you to do something.
The housing market changes quickly, but not so quickly that you can't take basic safety steps. You should protect your dream of owning a home.
To really check wire instructions, you need to call your title company or lender using a phone number you already have. Never use the contact information in the email that has the wire instructions. Real businesses give you wire instructions early in the closing process, not at the last minute. When you get instructions, call right away to confirm and then keep the confirmation. Getting "updated" instructions later on is a big red flag. Use the number you verified to call again. While starting the transfer, stay on the phone with a verified rep. It's almost impossible to get money back once it's been sent through a wire transfer. The FBI says that the average loss is more than $70,000, so taking 30 minutes to check could save your down payment. We put a lot of emphasis on this verification process at AmeriSave, and we work with title companies to make sure that wire fraud doesn't happen.
Time is very important. Call your bank right away. In 2023, the FBI's Recovery Asset Team froze more than $500 million in fake transfers, but they need to act quickly to be successful. If you need to recall a wire transfer right away, ask your bank to call the receiving bank. For credit cards, dispute the charge right away. Cards offer the best protection. If you have a debit card, call the fraud department right away. For payment apps like Zelle or PayPal, you should report fraud to the fraud department, but getting your money back is harder. It's hard to get back cryptocurrency, but you should still report it. Make a police report and get a copy. The FTC can be reached at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 can be reached at ic3.gov. Start credit freezes with all three bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Keep a record of everything: emails, texts, wire confirmations, and other messages. This is very important for investigations and possible recovery.
I wish this wasn't true, but the numbers are scary. The FBI said that rental scams went up by 64% over three years, with more than 10,000 cases in 2023 alone. Over the course of two years, the Better Business Bureau saw a 45% rise in complaints. Ninety-three percent of renters who took a Rently survey said they think scams are common, and ninety percent said they are worried about becoming victims. Eighty-eight percent of real victims found fake listings on Facebook, and twelve percent found them on Craigslist. Seventy percent had already paid security deposits and fifty-nine percent had already paid application fees before they found out about the scams. The fact that rental scams are so complicated is what makes them so dangerous. Scammers take pictures from real listings, change the contact information for real agents, and then post them on new sites. The tight housing market makes this worse because when there aren't many homes for sale and there is a lot of demand, people feel like they have to act quickly, which is what scammers want.
Check with your state's regulatory board to make sure they have a valid license. You can check online to see if an inspector is licensed in most states. Get professional certifications from groups like the American Society of Home Inspectors. Look at their insurance. Real inspectors have errors and omissions coverage. Read reviews from more than one place. Do an interview before you hire someone. Ask how long they've been doing inspections, what they usually look at, how long it takes, and when you'll get the report. If the inspection only takes 45 minutes, that's a bad sign. It should take at least two to three hours. Real inspectors want you to come and ask questions. They want to teach you about the problems and systems in the house. If inspectors try to talk you out of going, are vague about their qualifications, can't give you references you can check, or hurry through attics, crawl spaces, and basements, be careful. The report from the inspection should be thorough and include pictures of the problems. A real report could be anywhere from 30 to 50 pages long. A two-page report saying everything is fine makes me wonder how thorough it is.
Yes, for sure. Because they know how bad wire fraud can be, reliable title companies have put in place a lot of security measures. A lot of people now use secure portals to share instructions instead of regular email. Some people use verification services that need more than one form of authentication. The best companies tell you about wire fraud before a transaction starts, showing you what real communications look like and warning you about common scams. They give you instructions in person or through secure portals, and they tell you right away that these won't change. If you get a message saying that instructions have changed, they want you to call right away using verified numbers. Qualia's 2025 report says that title professionals think wire fraud is the biggest threat to their business. In 2024, 66% of them were targeted by empty lot scams. The industry has improved security by using encrypted communication, verifying identities across multiple channels, and training staff to spot signs of fraud. AmeriSave only works with companies that follow strict rules when you work with them. They use encrypted communication, check identities through several channels, and train their staff to spot fraud. They won't be mad if you call to check; in fact, they want you to do it. The right title company is a very important checkpoint, but only if you follow their steps to verify.
This is important because there is real free help out there, but scammers try to trick people on purpose. HUD-approved counseling agencies, nonprofits, and sometimes your mortgage servicer can help you with foreclosure. This help is free or very cheap. You can find these HUD-certified groups on HUD's website or by calling 800-569-4287. They help you figure out your options, like loan modifications, repayment plans, forbearance, or short sales. They help you talk to your lender and look into all of your options. They never ask you to stop talking to your servicer or charge you a lot of money up front. Companies that call you out of the blue and promise to save your home in exchange for upfront payments are running foreclosure scams. They say they have special relationships with lenders or promise results they can't deliver. If someone asks you to pay fees before they do anything, tells you to stop talking to your lender and send everything through them, pressures you to sign over your deed, or makes promises that sound too good, like promising to definitely stop foreclosure, that's a red flag. Some people act like lawyers. Before you pay anyone, check their credentials with your state's bar association. If you're having trouble making payments, the first person you should call is your servicer, not a company that calls you. Many servicers have departments that help them deal with losses. If you're having trouble, we at AmeriSave want you to get in touch with us right away, before you miss a payment if you can.
No, not always, but they are riskier and need more proof. It happens all the time that people do business off the market. Real estate investors and wholesalers do get in touch with homeowners about buying homes that aren't listed. Some people like to sell off market because it gives them more privacy or keeps them from having to deal with listing problems. But the off-market space is where a lot of scams happen because there isn't as much oversight as there is in regular sales. When you list through a licensed agent and the MLS, you have more than one professional checking your work. There are official records of everything. You lose a lot of protections when you make deals off the market. So how do you know if they're real? First, make sure you know who they are. If you need to, ask for their full name, company name, business license, and real estate license. Look them up online. Legitimate investors usually have websites, reviews, and public transaction records for their businesses. Get references and call them. Be very careful of anyone who wants you to make quick decisions, sign papers without looking them over, send money through wire transfers or other strange methods, or temporarily give them your deed. These are classic ways to trick people. If you want to make an offer on a house that isn't on the market, hire a real estate lawyer to look over everything before you sign. To find out how much your home is really worth, get a proper appraisal. Don't accept offers without knowing exactly what you're getting. Some "cash offers" have terms or conditions that aren't clear right away. Even for sales that aren't on the market, work with a well-known title company to handle the closing. They'll check who owns the property, make sure the deed is transferred correctly, and handle escrow professionally. Deals that are not on the market can be real and helpful, but they need more research.
A lot of the time, title theft happens without anyone knowing. The first signs of trouble could be getting mail about your property that you didn't expect, like a mortgage statement for a loan you never took out or letters from lenders you don't know. Another sign that something is wrong is not getting your property tax bills. If you stop getting bills all of a sudden, someone may have changed the address on the property records. You might get a letter saying that your homeowner's insurance was canceled, or you might get a letter about liens or legal actions that you don't know about. Some people find out about title fraud when they can't get credit because their credit reports show fake loans against their property. Some people find out when they try to sell or refinance and see that loans are already recorded against the property. Check property records often through your county recorder or assessor's office to catch title fraud early. A lot of counties offer free alert services that let you know when documents are filed against your property. Check your credit reports often to see if there are any mortgages or home equity loans you didn't take out. If your data has been stolen, which is likely the case for most of us, be extra careful because scammers may have your personal information. Change your passwords often, especially for accounts that have money in them. Whenever you can, use two-factor authentication. Think about getting protection against identity theft that includes monitoring your property. These usually cost between $10 and $30 a month and let you know when the title changes. You're more likely to be at risk if you're older or own property outright with no mortgage. Scammers go after homes that don't have a mortgage because there isn't a lender watching them. Some people buy title insurance that stays in effect after closing, which protects them for a long time. If you see anything that seems off, call the police and your county recorder right away. The sooner you find title fraud, the easier it is to fix.
Don't let fear stop you from working with a good agent. Most agents are honest professionals who look out for their clients. There are bad people in every profession, and sometimes scammers pretend to be real agents. Verification is the key. Check your state's real estate commission website to make sure the agent you want to work with has a valid license. You can check a license's status, look up disciplinary actions, and make sure they're connected to the brokerage they say they are through online databases in every state. Read reviews from different places, like Google, Zillow, and Realtor.com, and ask for references from recent clients. Real agents are happy to give you references. Before you agree to work with them, meet them in person at their office. It's suspicious if someone says they're an agent but won't meet at their brokerage office or keeps making excuses. Be careful if an agent pushes you to act right away, tells you not to have inspections or appraisals, asks you to wire money directly to them instead of through escrow, or seems to be hiding their credentials. One type of scam is when fake agents make listings for homes they don't actually represent. They take pictures from real listings, change the contact information, and charge unsuspecting renters or buyers. Always double-check listings on your own. For example, check addresses on more than one site, look up owners in county records, and make sure that listing agents are connected to the brokerages they show. If you're selling, be careful if agents call you out of the blue with listing offers, especially if they're pushy or make promises that aren't true. Some real agents use this method to find new clients, but so do scammers. Find out why this person is so eager to work with you. Have they worked in your area before? Can you check their skills? One of the best ways to protect yourself is to work with an agent you can trust and who has been verified. This is because experienced agents know what to look for and can keep you safe from scams you might not know to look for.
This is getting scarier every day. Fraudsters now use AI to find targets by using personal information that has been stolen from breaches and is available on the dark web. They are making fake identities and ownership papers that look real harder and harder to spot. AI-powered voice synthesis makes deepfakes possible—recordings that sound just like your real agent, loan officer, or title company rep. They've also started using AI to run large-scale phishing scams, sending personalized emails that are much more convincing than the obvious scam emails of years past. With AI, scammers can work on a huge scale and make things very personal. They look at your transaction through public property records and social media, and then they use AI to make messages that mention specific details about the purchase. This makes scams seem much more real. AI can make fake websites and documents that look almost exactly like real ones. They could make a fake title company website that looks very professional, even using logos and staff photos from real companies. Be even more careful with digital communications to avoid scams that use AI. Just because an email or phone call seems personal and includes correct transaction information doesn't mean it's real. That information could be stolen or made public. Always check through more than one source. If you receive a phone call with wire instructions, hang up and call back using an independently verified number. If an email mentions your transaction, don't click on any links. Instead, type the company's website address into your browser. Pay attention to small differences, like email addresses that are spelled wrong, strange ways of saying things, or requests that don't follow normal procedures. Keep in mind that advanced technology doesn't make you weak. Basic safety measures still work: check through trusted sources, slow down when you're under pressure, and only work with licensed professionals who follow established security protocols.
Fact Checked
