Verify before paying
Real-Estate Listing and Wire-Fraud Scam Prevention
Verify listings, owners, agents, landlords, title and escrow companies, and payment instructions before sending personal information or money.
The short answer
A professional-looking listing, email chain, document, or caller ID can be copied or impersonated. Verify the property, owner, representative, company, and payment instructions through sources you locate independently. A last-minute change to wiring instructions is a reason to stop and verify—not a reason to hurry.
Independent verification routine
Verify the property
Compare the listing across platforms and check the owner, parcel, tax, and recording information through official local records.
Verify each person
Locate the brokerage, landlord, lender, title company, or closing company through an independent directory or regulator.
Verify communications
Inspect domain spelling, reply addresses, telephone numbers, pressure tactics, and requests to move to an unusual messaging channel.
Verify payment
Call a known number and confirm the recipient, bank, account, amount, and purpose before sending funds. Repeat the check after any change.
Preserve evidence
Save the original listing URL, screenshots, headers, texts, telephone numbers, documents, receipts, account details, and timeline.
Before sending money or identification
- Property and owner verified in official records
- Representative and company verified independently
- Email domain and telephone number checked
- Written agreement reviewed and questions answered
- Payment recipient and instructions confirmed by a second channel
- Sensitive documents transmitted only through a trusted method
Print or save this list. Add dates and source information so you can tell what was known at each decision point.
Independent tools and authoritative starting points
FTC: Rental listing scams
Learn how copied listings, fake landlords, and deposit scams operate.
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center
Report suspected internet-enabled fraud, including business-email and wire fraud.
Legal Services Corporation: Find legal aid
Locate civil legal-aid organizations by address.
Realtor.com
Search property listings and use the results as a starting point for independent due diligence.
Zillow
Browse residential listings; independently verify the listing, property, hazards, and representative.
Third-party notice: yPrivateAI is not affiliated with or endorsed by the third-party websites listed here. These links are starting points for independent research. Listings, availability, prices, property descriptions, maps, programs, and terms may change. Verify the property, representative, ownership, title, hazards, insurance availability, and payment instructions independently before making a commitment or transferring funds.
Related Moving On resources
Keep the recovery record together
Preserve notices, estimates, maps, quotes, receipts, listings, and the sources behind each important decision. For related documentation guidance, visit the property-damage documentation checklist and the policyholder resource library.