A police investigation is underway in Toronto after property owners returned home from a trip to find that their home had been sold to another family without their knowledge. It is alleged that the accused used fake ID’s to misrepresent themselves to a Realtor that they had enlisted to sell the Toronto home.
Police have released photos of the two suspects. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Toronto Police Service Financial Crimes Unit at 416-808-7310, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.
Vacation Properties, Tenanted Properties and other property that are frequently left vacant for extended periods may be at a higher risk for these types of crimes.
How can you protect yourself?
While crimes are getting increasingly sophisticated there are a few things that you can do to protect yourself and your property.
We reccomend setting up a Google Alert for Properties that you own, that way if some is frauduently trying to sell or lease your property an alert of the ad that they are using could be sent to you via email.
The government of Canada’s website also has this information on real estate fraud:
There are two main types of real estate fraud that may result in financial loss:
title fraud
foreclosure fraud
Title fraud
Title fraud happens when the title to your home is stolen, and then the fraudster sells the home or applies for a new mortgage against it. Title fraud usually starts with identity theft, which can happen if somebody steals your personal information.
Foreclosure fraud
Foreclosure fraud usually happens when you are having problems making your mortgage payments. You may be tricked into transferring your property title to somebody to get a loan that will help you make your payments. Fraudsters usually keep the payments you make and also possess the title to your home, which they can resell or remortgage.
To help protect yourself against real estate fraud, you can:
- keep your mortgage information in a safe place and shred old documents rather than throwing them in the trash
- contact your mortgage lender first if you are having difficulty making your mortgage payments
- consult your lawyer before giving another person a right to deal with your home or other assets
- research any company or individual who offers you a loan
- do a land title search with your provincial or territorial land registry office, which will show the name of the property owner and any mortgages or liens registered on the title
- consider buying title insurance to protect against title fraud, which will protect you from losses related to title fraud
https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/real-estate-fraud.html#toc1
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice.