Real Estate Scams and Fraud
Suburban West is occasionally notified of possible scams and frauds that are received personally by REALTORS®. Additionally, we keep tabs on regional, state and national scam and fraud stories:
Wire Money Scam (PARJustListed; July 17, 2015)
Beware of Patent Troll (NAR; June 4, 2013)
Sham Rating Site? (NAR; April 15, 2013)
Fake Complaint Site Now Dormant (NAR; January 24, 2013)
Real Estate Scams Still Lurk on Craig’s List (PARJustListed; August 29, 2012)
Identity Theft
Identity theft is a serious and costly crime. Click here for 10 tips that can help you lower your risk of becoming a victim (courtesy of the National Association of REALTORS®).
Protect Your Online Reputation
Online reputation management—and reputation trashing—is a growing enterprise, and there are simple steps you can take to manage your own reputation online:
- Make sure all of your profiles (on social media sites, at REALTOR.com, and so on) are complete, up to date, and consistent.
- Be proactive in asking customers for reviews in legitimate forums, such as Yelp and LinkedIn.
- Search Google and Yahoo for your name and your company’s name. Save each search as a browser favorite and check them daily.
- Sign up for Google Alerts so that you’re notified when your name appears in a search. Also set up alerts for variations of your name, your company name, and other keywords.
- Ask your customers where they’ve gone to search for information about real estate and other professionals.
- Correct errors quickly. Immediately contact the Web site and be willing to prove your case with information from your MLS or other sources. But don’t be tempted to pay to have information removed.
- Click here for more on Solutions for Staying Safe with Social Media (courtesy of National Association of REALTORS®).
