It happened to two Toronto-based homeowners who left Canada for work-related reasons.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Mainland B.C. issued a warning to homeowners Wednesday regarding an emerging scam trend: home title fraud.
This type of fraud is when someone obtains the title to your property and changes ownership from your information to theirs by using fake identification and forged signatures.
“The scary part is, you may not even realize it has happened until it’s too late. In fact, it has already occurred twice in Ontario this month,” said the BBB in their release.
Reports emerged in early January about two Toronto-based homeowners who left Canada for work-related reasons, only to find out that their home had been sold without their knowledge, according to the Toronto Police Service.
Upon returning, they discovered that scammers had used fake identities to hire a real estate agent, list and sell the property, in addition to the new homeowners taking possession, the police report said.
Last week, a close call was reported from a Toronto-based family who was able to stop the scam after someone used a fake identity to put their house up for rent.
“Title fraud has been a threat to the Canadian real estate industry and is a potential risk for every property,” said Simone Lis, president and CEO for BBB serving Mainland B.C. “The best thing you can do is take proper precautions to avoid falling into this scam, and know…
