We are truly living in a Brave New World where scammers will stop at nothing to exact money or property from you. Just this week I have two experiences to share and what you can do to fight it.
One of our agents received a call, (from a 207 number), asking if she was interested in selling our home. (This was a guy with an American accent asked for Thomas like he was on a first name basis with him.
The caller proceeded to receipt stats on the home (# bedroom, baths, etc) claiming to be representing a wealthy land developer from Augusta. Upon asking for the Developer’s name and receiving one the agent did a quick google check for the phone number and then checked that again Forewarn – an identity verification service to which we subscribe. The phone number was linked to a lengthy criminal record and when confronted the call quickly ended.
This week we also received an email inquiry that someone wanted to sell land on Peaks Island. The email included the real name of someone who did in fact own land but a phone verification indicated a different person. Unbelievably a similar scam happened in another office and the land was actually listed, until noticed by a neighbor.
The bottom line is, protect yourself from Title theft. Did you know that it is relatively easy for someone to go to the Registry of Deeds, forge signatures and get documents notarized! It happens!
To prevent this you can reach out to Maine land Records and set up a free fraud alter that will notify you if there is any nefarious activity surrounding your information.
Second, set up a temporary fraud alert on one of the Credit Reporting agencies that will make it difficult for anyone to get credit in your name and alert vendors of suspicious activity.
In a world where ai can now impersonate your voice and create artificial images online, the battle is only going to get worse. From the emails to the texts to the phone calls, snail mail, the scammers are relentless. It’s exhausting.
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About the Author: Michael
