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Social media can provide opportunities for fraudsters to create online identities solely for the purpose of tricking victims. They use the information posted to victims' profile pages to "romantically" manipulate them. They move quickly and endear themselves by saying whatever they believe the victims want to hear.

Soon, the fraudsters will state they have an emergency and they need to "borrow" some money. They promise they will repay it. Unfortunately, that is never true and once a victim sends money they are placed on a "sucker list" where their names and identities are shared with other criminals who target them for more money.

Recently, two of our offices in Nevada elected not to close transactions where the sellers may have been victims of this type of scam.

At closing, a gentleman in his early 70's explained to the notary he was selling his home so he could send money to his fiancé in Dubai. She had inherited uncut gems valued at $3 million dollars and could not leave the country with them until she paid the inheritance taxes.

He explained that as soon as his fiancé received the money from his sale proceeds, she would pay the taxes and then hire a private jet, private security and a special box to transfer the uncut gems to the United States.

The gentleman also explained he was now delinquent on his house payments, taxes and homeowner's association dues, because he had sent his fiancé more than $150,000 during the last two years.

His fiancé needed to come to Las Vegas since her mother was in the hospital because she had a hole in her heart – but his fiancé would not leave Dubai without the gems. The notary asked if he had gone to visit his future mother–in–law in the hospital. He said she was transferred from Las Vegas to a hospital in Elko, Nevada, so he had not visited yet.

The gentleman even said, "I know it sounds like a scam," but insisted he was not being scammed. He also mentioned his fiancé's partners took off and left her to settle the taxes. Partners? I thought this was her inheritance.

Other odd things about the sale of this gentleman's home:

  • The buyer was an investor purchasing the property for less than full market value.
  • There were no real estate agents involved.
  • The buyer was aware of the seller's situation and agreed to release his $6,000 earnest money deposit when the escrow opened so the seller could send it to his fiancé.

The escrow officer did not want to close the transaction. She consulted with management who agreed with her decision. She resigned from the transaction explaining to the seller that due to the extenuating circumstances surrounding the sale, the Company elected not to close and insure the transaction. She shared two links with the seller:

The escrow officer urged the seller to meet with a local FBI agent. The seller objected. He insisted he was not being scammed and would still sell his house.

The investor buyer ended up being a good guy and visited the seller at his home and offered to take him to the FBI. The seller agreed. Hopefully, the FBI agent will be able to fully investigate the seller's situation and determine whether he is or is not being scammed.

Not too far away, a different operation opened a sale transaction. A trust owned the property, and the original trustee was deceased. His wife was the successor trustee who told the listing agent she was selling the home to send $50,000 to her new husband, whom she only recently met in a casino.

Theirs was a whirlwind romance and they married after just three weeks. He was from Syria but left Reno, Nevada to finish a project for his employer, a major corporation in Africa. Not long after he left, he called stating he had been arrested in Turkey and was being held in jail. He was arrested with $1,000,000 cash on him, which he claimed exceeded the limit allowed by Turkish law. He needed her to send $50,000 which represented his fines. Upon receipt, he would pay it to the Turkish government who would release him and give him back the $1,000,000.

The operation notified the listing agent that due to the extenuating circumstances, it would not be willing to close and insure the sale. The operation also sent over links to the FBI and FTC websites that related to these types of scams and urged the listing agent to have the seller contact the FBI.

The listing agent promised to consult with her client, who had defaulted on her first and second mortgages, encumbering the property she was selling. She knew the sale would enable the seller to pay off the loans and still net some proceeds.

The listing agent believed selling the house was still in the seller's best interest, but she hoped to convince the seller not to send any money to her husband. The real estate agent was going to share the links to the FBI and FTC websites with her client in hopes they would make a difference.

Although our Company was not being defrauded in either of these scenarios, our employees from the county manager, escrow administrator, escrow officer and notary still displayed the highest standard of conduct. None of them wanted to participate in the sale which appeared would have funded the romance scams. They did, however, want to direct the sellers to consult the experts to help them determine whether their partners were legitimate or not.

Here are some tips from the FBI website listed for anyone who develops a romantic relationship with someone they meet online:

  • Research the person's photo and profile using online searches to see if the material has been used elsewhere.
  • Go slow and ask lots of questions.
  • Beware if the individual seems too perfect or quickly asks you to leave a dating service or Facebook to go "offline."
  • Beware if the individual attempts to isolate you from friends and family or requests inappropriate photos or financial information that could later be used to extort you.
  • Beware if the individual promises to meet in person but then always comes up with an excuse why he or she can't. If you have not met the person after a few months, for whatever reason, you have good reason to be suspicious.
  • Never send money to anyone you do not know personally.

Victims of a romance scam, can file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has these tips posted on their site for anyone who suspects they are being scammed:

  • Stop communicating with the person immediately.
  • Talk to someone you trust, and pay attention if your friends or family say they are concerned about your new love interest.
  • Do a search for the type of job the person has to see if other people have heard similar stories. For example, you could do a search for "oil rig scammer" or "U.S. Army scammer."
  • Do a reverse image search of the person's profile picture to see if it is associated with another name or with details that do not match up — those are signs of a scam.

Victims should file a report with the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

Anyone is subject to this scam. Anyone online using the internet is susceptible. If you know of someone who may be a victim share the links in this article and urge them to contact the FBI or FTC. They are the experts who can assist any potential victims.

Article provided by contributing author:
Diana Hoffman, Corporate Escrow Administrator
Fidelity National Title Group
National Escrow Administration

 

 
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