Preventing Real Estate Fraud: Insights from the G Law Firm
Introduction:
In this discussion, ProNotary’s team speaks with Ricky from the G Law Firm, a legal practice specializing in real estate transactions, including residential and commercial purchases, developments, and private projects.
🏡 About the G Law Firm
- Specializes in real estate transactions.
- Handles residential and commercial closings, development projects, and private transactions.
- Focuses heavily on fraud prevention practices to protect their clients.
🛡️ Preventing Real Estate Fraud
Common Fraud Trends:
- Fraud often involves properties that have had the same owner for decades (1920s-1950s).
- Fraudsters pose as owners, offering fake IDs and resisting transparency during closing.
- Red flags include reluctance to share legitimate ID and wanting to use their own notary.
Tools to Combat Fraud:
- Remote Online Notarization (RON):
- Verifies identity through multi-layer ID checks.
- Provides an audit trail and encryption.
- Allows visual inspection by the notary.
- Internal Checks:
- Comparing the seller’s history to current ID information.
- Dispatching a mobile notary to verify signers in person.
🌴 Spotlight on Vacant Lot Fraud
- Vacant lots are frequent targets because owners often forget about them or have passed away.
- Fraudsters can easily find lot information online and pretend to own the property.
- A recent case involved identifying a fraudulent seller based on a mismatch in historical ownership dates and suspicious ID documents.
Looking to strengthen your real estate transactions with fraud prevention tools like Remote Online Notarization? Visit ProNotary.com to learn more.
