The Housing Scene: In odd lots, bargain pricing and fraud abounds
Just before the pandemic struck, the co-founder and former CEO of Zillow listed his Los Angles manse for $24 million — nearly $8 million more than the site’s oft-maligned automated valuation Zestimate model says it’s worth. Some realty agents have complained that the popular tool is wildly inaccurate. Meanwhile, some people can never change their stripes. To wit, one of the first people charged with trying to scam the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program is a convicted mortgage fraudster.
According to the FBI, these thefts are part of a fraud category that tops the list of high-loss crimes, resulting in almost $1.8 billion in losses to businesses and consumers. By comparison, investment and real estate rental fraud ranked fourth and fifth on the FBI’s list of top crime losses, costing a “paltry” $222 million and $221 million, respectively.
Wire fraud occurs when thieves intercept emails, so real estate agents should never send instructions electronically. If you receive something via email from your real estate or settlement agent, check out its authenticity before doing anything else.
Telephone utility fraud is also on the uptick. In this type of ruse, a scammer calls saying you were overcharged by your (unnamed) energy supplier and are due a refund. In another version, the reprobate offers a big discount. But to verify your identity, they say, we need your account number.
If you are on the receiving end of one of these calls, hang up. The key is that they don’t know the name of your utility or supplier. Moreover, a utility will not call you about a refund or discount, and a licensed and reputable energy supplier is required by law to give you the company’s name and license number.
