Members of The Fund are being asked to exercise caution and be aware of an imposter fraud scheme variant that has already been attempted and prevented, according to one member’s report.
The Fund, a Florida-based industry association serving title attorneys, released an alert in March detailing the new threat. According to the alert, one Fund member was the target of a malicious actor attempting to execute a fraudulent transaction of a residential condominium.
The attempt was thwarted when the Fund member raised red flags and refused to be rushed by the scammer.
Other transactions scams have been studied by The Fund and found to form a pattern, indicating the imposter fraud scheme is being attempted on larger scale. The suspect transactions have several factors in common: they tend to involve high-value condominium units in south Florida; the properties are often originally owned but not occupied by foreign nationals; the loans are cash-out refinances involving hard money lenders facilitated by mortgage brokers; the closing agent in these cases is typically instructed to wire loan proceeds to a Citizens Bank N.A. account in the foreign national’s name; and the imposter often appears in person for closing and presents notaries with high-quality foreign identification credentials.
To best combat this new variant of the imposter fraud scheme, Fund members are advised to explore additional safeguards such as requiring multiple forms of photo identification, requiring credential analysis through a third-party vendor and sending a “test” confirmation letter to the mailing address listed for the property owner.