Real estate professionals in our area are reporting an increase in scam attempts targeting agents and their clients. The Land of the Sky Association of REALTORS® wants to make sure our members are informed and prepared.
Here’s a summary of recent incidents and what you can do to protect yourself.
Fake Clients Pushing Zoom Meetings
Members have received outreach from individuals posing as prospective buyers who refuse to provide a phone number and insist on communicating exclusively via Zoom. These inquiries often involve high-value properties and are designed to get you to click a meeting link you didn’t create.
Clicking an unsolicited Zoom link can install malware on your device.
What to do: Always generate your own Zoom meeting link and send it to the client. Never click a meeting link from someone you don’t know.
False Ownership Claims
Scammers are contacting agents and falsely claiming to own properties — including vacant lots and larger parcels — in an attempt to fraudulently list and sell real estate they don’t own. In at least one local case, the actual property owners were located and confirmed they had no knowledge of the inquiry.
What to do: Verify seller identity independently before taking any listing. Request a government-issued ID, cross-reference public records, and contact the owner through a channel you found yourself — not one the inquiring party provided.
Impersonation Through Third-Party Platforms
Scammers are also using popular real estate platforms to make initial contact, lending their outreach a false sense of legitimacy. Members have reported inquiries that appeared to come through established platforms but were confirmed as fraudulent after independent verification.
What to do: Treat any seller lead from a third-party platform with the same scrutiny as a cold email. Verify before you proceed.
General Best Practices
- Use ForewarnⓇ to screen unfamiliar contacts
- Verify seller identity through public records and independent outreach
- Never click meeting links you did not generate yourself
- Trust your instincts — if something feels off, pause and verify before moving forward
If You’ve Been Targeted
If you’ve encountered a scam attempt or suspicious inquiry, report it to the following:
- Local law enforcement — file a report with your local police department
- NC Real Estate Commission — ncrec.gov
- FTC — report fraud at reportfraud.ftc.gov
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) — ic3.gov
Reporting matters — it creates a record and helps authorities identify patterns across the region.
The Land of the Sky Association of REALTORS® serves real estate professionals in Buncombe, Madison, Transylvania, Yancey, and Mitchell counties in Western North Carolina.
brought to you by our Platinum Sponsors
