My favorite, not so new, scam.
Latly a few of our REO's have become rentals without knowing it.
Every once in a while we will get a property a little out of the way and we only visit it once a month. These properties are usually the victims.
1. Our sign is removed.
2. A for rent sign is put up with a prepaid cell phone # on it.
3. A tenant signs a lease with this unknown "land lord" and tells them all the utilities are included in the rent.
4. We get an electric bill for $300. When utilities are included these people really crank the a/c.
5. We visit the property and find very pissed off tenants. One guy even paid 6 months up front because he told the "land lord" that he had really bad credit.
We have had more than 10 like this in the last 6 months. We do have over 500 REO's but wow, these guys are a-holes.