Real estate fraud is no longer a distant threat. It is happening in our market, to agents in our community, and the methods are becoming more sophisticated by the month.
The 2026 CertifID State of Wire Fraud Report documented a 1,760% increase in business email compromise attacks since generative AI tools became widely available. Americans lost $20.8 billion to cybercriminals in 2025 — a 26% increase from the prior year. More than 1 in 5 consumers reported receiving suspicious or fraudulent communications during a recent closing.
LOTSAR has received multiple reports from local members about fraud attempts in our market. Below is a summary of what we’re seeing locally and nationally, along with practical steps every agent should take.
Local Incidents
Fraudulent FSBO Listing on Zillow
A LOTSAR member recently discovered a fraudulent For Sale By Owner listing on Zillow for a vacant lot in Asheville. The listing was not posted by the rightful owner. The member’s buyer went under contract before the scam was identified during due diligence — thankfully, no funds were exchanged.
This is consistent with a national trend. On June 16, 2026, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center issued a public service announcement warning that criminals are impersonating owners of vacant parcels to list and sell property without the true owner’s knowledge. Vacant land is the primary target — there is no tenant, no neighbor watching, and often no mortgage to trigger lender oversight. NAR’s 2025 Deed and Title Fraud Survey found that most title fraud cases involved vacant land.
LLC Switching Scheme
A second member reported an individual operating an investor scam in our area. The scammer put a property under contract and spent months — in one case, nearly a year — building relationships with agents and potential investors before switching the LLC on the transaction approximately one week before closing, soliciting investment capital for future projects, and disappearing with the money. This individual has reportedly operated the same scheme in other parts of Western North Carolina.
Fraud Patterns Every Agent Should Recognize
Seller Impersonation
Criminals research public records to identify vacant or non-owner-occupied properties with no mortgage, then contact agents by email or text posing as the owner. They request a fast cash closing, avoid in-person meetings, and direct proceeds to accounts that don’t match the seller’s identity. Verify ownership through county records before investing in any listing.
Wire Fraud and Transaction Switching
Fraudsters intercept email communications and impersonate closing attorneys or title companies, sending updated wire instructions at the last minute. The median loss for mortgage payoff fraud in 2025 was $389,125. Never act on wire instruction changes received by email alone — verify by phone using a number established at the start of the transaction.
AI-Generated Impersonation
Criminals now use AI to produce grammatically perfect, contextually convincing emails and deepfake voice and video to impersonate sellers and closing professionals. In documented cases, criminals called buyers posing as the title company before sending fraudulent wire instructions, so the later email appeared already confirmed. Establish a shared confirmation word with your title or escrow company at contract signing — before closing day.
Fake Meeting Links
Scammers insist on communicating via Zoom and send meeting links that can install malware when clicked. Always generate your own meeting link and send it to the client.
Third-Party Platform Impersonation
Scammers use legitimate real estate platforms to initiate contact, lending credibility to fraudulent outreach. Treat any seller lead from a third-party platform with the same scrutiny as a cold call.
Professional Liability
Being deceived no longer ends the inquiry for regulators and courts. In 2026, a state real estate commission disciplined a broker after a fake seller scheme, finding that the broker had not taken reasonable steps to confirm the seller’s identity. A separate case was allowed to proceed against a brokerage where buyers alleged the firm failed to confirm the listing person actually owned the property.
Document what you confirmed and when — your intake record matters.
Practical Steps
- Verify owner of record through county records before taking any vacant land or non-owner-occupied listing
- Establish a call-back number and shared confirmation word with your title or escrow company at contract signing
- Advise vacant land and out-of-state property owners to enroll in their county recorder’s free document alert program
- Treat any last-minute wiring instruction change as a reason to stop and reconfirm through a previously established channel
- Use ForewarnⓇ to screen unfamiliar contacts — available to all Canopy MLS subscribers
Report suspected fraud to:
- Local law enforcement
- NC Real Estate Commission — ncrec.gov
- FTC — reportfraud.ftc.gov
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center — ic3.gov
If you’ve encountered a suspicious inquiry or scam attempt, contact LOTSAR at info@lotsar.org. The more we share, the better protected our entire community becomes.
Sources: CertifID 2026 State of Wire Fraud Report; Q2 2026 Real Estate Fraud Intelligence Brief, Home Fraud Defense™; FBI IC3 PSA June 16, 2026; NAR 2025 Deed and Title Fraud Survey.
brought to you by our Platinum Sponsors
