District Attorney Encourages Public to be Alert for Real Estate Wire Scams

VENTURA, Calif. – Wire fraud in real estate transactions is rapidly increasing, posing a significant  threat to both buyers and sellers. According to the FBI, fraudsters are increasingly employing  sophisticated social engineering techniques to infiltrate real estate transactions by impersonating  trusted parties such as escrow officers, real

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Understanding and Preventing Equity Skimming in Real Estate

Equity skimming is a particularly insidious form of real estate fraud that targets property owners, often those who are already in a vulnerable financial position. This scam involves a fraudulent party taking over a property owner’s mortgage payments, typically with the promise of preventing foreclosure, only to

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Vacant land property scams are on the rise

Alert: Vacant Land Scams Show Upward Trend

The Legal Hotline has received multiple calls from listing agents who, upon listing vacant land, have grown suspicious that the person who signed their listing may not be the rightful owner. This mirrors a national trend where title companies are reporting an increase in scams involving vacant

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COVID-19 Rental Scam Warning

VENTURA, California – District Attorney Gregory D. Totten warned today that county residents should be vigilant when using online listing services to secure rental housing. Such services do not typically verify that the person listing a property for rent is actually authorized to do so. This creates

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Warning from DRE: California Department of Real Estate Warning

While there are people and companies in the business of modifying loans or helping prevent foreclosure that are licensed, legitimate, and qualified, the Department of Real Estate (DRE) advises all homeowners that you must be cautious. FRAUD WARNINGS FOR CALIFORNIA HOMEOWNERS IN FINANCIAL DISTRESS

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COVID-19 Mortgage Forbearance Warning

VENTURA, California – District Attorney Gregory D. Totten warned today that county residents should be extra vigilant about mortgage, forbearance, and loan modification scams as financial predators seek to exploit the current COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 virus, last month

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