Kate Cimini
- Scammers are victimizing Floridians by falsely listing lots or homes online at low prices.
- Anyone can be victimized if a scammer fraudulently lists their property for sale.
- Real estate agents say that they have a number of safeguards in place but scammers are getting smarter.
Catherine Greenleaf opened an email from her real estate company with links to new listings, like she did every morning.
The owner of 2.4 acres in Pine Island's St. James City, she and her husband, Tony, hoped to buy a lot adjacent to theirs. They plan to build a home on Pine Island and want to create a bird sanctuary on the property, as well.
But when the property sale search results loaded, the first listing on the page was her own property.
Keeping Florida safe:How do I protect myself from a land or rental scam?
She thought it was a mistake.
Greenleaf refreshed the page. After all, she owned her lot and hadn't listed it. But still, when the page reloaded, the top result was her own: 5366 Western Dr., available for purchase at $185,000.
"I freaked out," she said.
Greenleaf was the victim of what is known as a land scam, which real estate and law enforcement experts say is becoming very common in hot real estate markets like Southwest Florida.
Many of these land scammers are being traced back to Nigeria, Russia, or Eastern European countries, and data shows popular targets are often the elderly. They're leaving many Floridians embroiled in paperwork and civil litigation trying to prove that their land was sold out from under them, or worse: trying to recoup money they spent on land that was never truly for sale.
Seniors most at risk
While Florida is the third most populous state, it is the second most defrauded state behind only California, according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, which handles internet-based fraud such as Greenleaf experienced. Its hot real estate market and its older population makes it a popular target for scammers.