Beware of "land for sale" scams

[Collin Hays]

A fellow contributor here, John Carbone, sent me a link yesterday to a lot for sale in the Smokies.  The price certainly seemed reasonable.  It so happened that I know the owner of the lot.  He is one of our homeowner clients.  I called him last night to ask him if he was selling his lot, and he said "No."  

As it turns out, a fraudster posing as the owner listed the land with a local realtor.  The fraudster had captured my client's driver's license info, and who knows what else at this time.

Moral of the story:  If you are looking at land for sale, or any real property for that matter, make sure it is actually for sale before you start making offers and, more importantly, sending any money.