Questions about fake sellers and wire fraud

The county record names the owner, and a certified letter to the mailing address on the tax record goes to that owner even when someone else is posing as the seller. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recommends that letter to buyers in its June 2026 alert on parcel owner impersonation. The same alert's warning signs include a seller who will not meet in person, pushes for a fast sale below market value or knows little about the land. The seller guide links the alert and walks through each check on the seller.

Seller impersonation fraud is a sale run by someone posing as the property's owner. The American Land Title Association describes criminals who pose as owners to sell real estate they do not own, often vacant land, second homes or investment properties (fraud in real estate). The Federal Bureau of Investigation's June 2026 alert describes the impostor's tools: forged identification, a new email account and an internet phone number. With them the impostor works through a real agent or title company and asks for the sale money to go to a co-conspirator. The buyer is left with a deed from someone who never owned the land.

An impostor can try. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's June 2026 alert describes schemes aimed at vacant parcels, using forged identification and, in one case it describes, a fake deed. The alert gives owners two steps: sign up for the county recorder's notification service where one exists, and review the title insurance policy, including any post-policy protection. Buyers who follow the alert write to the mailing address on the tax bill, so an owner whose address there is current gets their letter. An owner who finds a deed they never signed calls a real estate attorney and files a report at ic3.gov. The seller guide's section for owners links the alert.

The first call goes to the bank that sent the wire, at a number already on file, to ask its fraud team for a recall. The second step is a complaint at ic3.gov with the full transaction details. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's complaint center asks for one whatever the amount lost. Calls to the title company and the closing attorney follow, along with a new password on the email account and a saved copy of every message. The first hour after a wire goes to the wrong account covers each step with its source.

Sometimes, when the request comes fast and the money is still in the receiving account. The sending bank can request a recall, and after a complaint at ic3.gov the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Recovery Asset Team can ask the receiving bank to freeze the money. The Bureau's 2025 annual report, cited in the first-hour guide, counts about $679 million frozen out of $1.16 billion in attempted theft across 3,900 incidents. The same report says banks differ in how much help they give. The recall request goes through the bank that sent the wire.

The business registry of the state where the company was formed shows its exact legal name, formation date and registered agent. Delaware's search page warns that its results are no guide to an entity's current status; that comes from a certificate of good standing. Who may sign for the company is written in its operating agreement or in a signed resolution. The verification guide links each registry it names.

A proof of funds letter counts as a claim until the bank behind it confirms it. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's BankFind Suite shows whether a bank exists and is insured. The bank's number comes from its own website or that listing, never from the letter, and the buyer authorizes the bank to confirm the funds directly. A screenshot of a balance says nothing about who controls the account. The steps and the lookups are in how to verify who you are dealing with.

The Federal Trade Commission's advice covers every kind of check, cashier's checks included: rely on the money only when the person behind the check is known and trusted. Its guide to fake check scams explains that banks must make deposited funds available quickly, while a fake check can take weeks to be discovered, and the depositor repays the bank for anything sent out against it. Fake checks can look like cashier's checks or money orders. Funds can show as available in the account weeks before the bank learns the check was fake. The verification guide links the commission's page.

The Federal Trade Commission's page on refund and recovery scams calls anyone who asks for an upfront fee to recover lost money a scammer, and says government agencies never ask for money to help get a refund. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's complaint center never contacts people directly, never asks for payment to recover funds and never refers anyone to a company that does. Scammers also trade lists of people who have already lost money. The first hour after a wire goes to the wrong account links the commission's page and the complaint center's alerts.

When the buyer's title company or closing attorney arranges the notary, the seller has no say in who checks identity at the signing. The American Land Title Association warned in May 2023 that fraudsters have used real notaries' credentials without the notaries knowing, so a stamp on the seller's papers may be one the notary never applied. When the seller's notary stays, the buyer checks the notary's commission with the state that issued it and calls the notary at a number the seller did not provide. The seller guide links the warning.

A live video call tests what the seller knows about the land: the road in, the boundaries, the last tax bill. It cannot show that the face on the screen belongs to the owner of record. The identity check comes from the county record and a certified letter to the owner's tax-bill address, the step the Federal Bureau of Investigation's June 2026 alert recommends to buyers. The seller guide covers both.