Unsuspecting investors can also become victims due to letting their emotions take over, and not truly understanding the valuation process.  

There are many out there who prey on unsuspecting newbies with promises of making hundreds of thousands, and even in the millions with their proven methods.

There are all sorts of discount brokers  Help you sell Pioneered it way back when..There are listings that are limited rep.. that are 500 dollars flat fee.. and so on and so forth.I personally get 90% of my deals across the US from realtors.. the rest from wholesalers ( which run the gambit of good to worthless)Bottom line like someone else mentioned though... .90% of buyers and sellers really have no clue how a RE transaction works and if they were left up to their own devises not much would happen.. unsuspecting sellers would get ripped off. 

It is a deceptive ploy to gather data on the unsuspecting public, and then they turn around and sell it to the highest bidder. 

It's a poorly organized database and interface though and can be hard to find what you want so an OPRA request can help cover anything you might miss researching on your own.A lot of unsuspecting buyers don't know these types of information exist and are available for free to the public.  

I have seen these so called "Wholesalers" tie up properties, take advantage of unsuspecting sellers, use insufficient consideration or none at all.I think  to call yourself a wholesaler is the same as an investors, investors always buy or control real estate below retail (which means wholesale).

Anything posted by a major media publication is already designed to sway an opinion in one way or the other.What would generate more buzz and votes, an article saying rich landlords have life easier or, greedy landlords trying to force evictions on poor unsuspecting tenants.

If you are presented a wholesale deal from anyone, be sure to verify that the signed agreement is signed by the actual homeowner of the property, that the title and escrow company are legit, and that the wholesaler has a legit and fully executed agreement.Unfortunately, our industry is no different than any other and unscrupulous characters exist who can't make it in the industry the legal way and choose to steal and defraud the innocent and unsuspecting.

Good thing the demo happened before you lured an unsuspecting buyer to pay an non refundable deposit to you.  

No, but I know the damage they cause to unsuspecting sellers.