Many people associate their own home with safety, coziness and comfort. However, losing all this is easier than it seems - apartment scammers are here to stay
The victims of apartment scams most often are single people, pensioners, disabled people, alcohol and drug addicts, or those who left their home unattended for a long period. It is easiest for attackers to take away an apartment from such people
It is important for scammers to know whether one of the victim’s relatives or loved ones is applying for this premises, writes the Ukrainian Interest publication. Next, the scammers ingratiate themselves into trust. Their main goal is to obtain documents for the apartment, and then in various ways they persuade you to voluntarily sign over the property. They can use the “classic method” - getting the owner drunk. The victim, while intoxicated, does not control himself and will sign anything
If things don’t work out “the good way”, the attackers begin to threaten physical violence. They can also steal or falsify the necessary documents and carry out a scam without the knowledge of the property owner. In most cases, the re-registration of housing occurs without the participation of the victim. A person may not even realize that his house already belongs to someone else. person The final stage of the scheme is to sell the apartment and make a profit
So, there are quite a lot of schemes for stealing an apartment; attackers are limited only by their own imagination
Rental of property
Fraudsters are looking for apartments rented out by their owners for office space. However, they say that repairs need to be done first. Owners do not always agree, because there is not always enough money for major changes in the premises. However, scammers offer to make repairs at the expense of the company they represent, and the cost of repairs will go towards rent payment
With such offers, there is a high probability that you are dealing with scammers. A gullible victim agrees to make repairs at the expense of the company and signs all the necessary documents. After some time, all work on the premises is completed, the owner is billed for these repairs. The amount, as practice shows, is tens of times exceeds the cost of the rental itself
It is clear that a person does not have that kind of money and he renounces the rights to the apartment. In the worst case, he loses his other property due to debts. It is interesting that no violation of the law occurred, because the owner of the apartment voluntarily entered into an official agreement with the scammers. No forgery or theft documents, blackmail or violence - the usual trick Classic
Another proven scheme for a raider takeover of an apartment is when the tenant himself has made major repairs to the apartment and can lay claim to part of it
Empty housing
When the attackers received information about such apartments, they immediately planned to take them into their hands, because some of them remain empty for years
It’s easy to get into such apartments, you can often find ownership documents there, or even make fake duplicates, and then the next step is to draw up powers of attorney. When all the necessary papers are in place, criminals, posing as the real owners, put the property up for sale.
It is interesting that the price of the apartment will be relatively small. Showings are cordially arranged here, the main thing is to quickly find a buyer. Under favorable conditions, the full implementation of this scheme takes 25 days. In addition to the owner himself, the buyers of the apartment also remain deceived. While they sort out the ownership rights, the scammers disappear
Trust but check
“Trust relationships” is another popular scheme of scammers. Under the guise of social workers, law enforcement officers, utility workers, doctors, and even just in a bar, scammers get acquainted and gain the trust of their victim. Then - constant meetings, communication, “friendship” or even relationships. After some time, the attacker invites the victim to move in together, or exchange keys to the apartments - just in case, the scammer can simply make a duplicate of the keys
The fraudster steals the passport of his “best friend” and pastes into it a photo of a third person - his accomplice
Subsequently, the thief invites the victim to go somewhere together for a week or two
When the “comrades” have already left, the accomplice, posing as the owner of the property, signs all the necessary papers with the stolen documents and sells the apartment to previously identified buyers. After this, the attacker destroys the stolen passport with a photo pasted in
A real owner returns from a trip and is very surprised when he sees strangers or new locks in his apartment
The owner finds out that the apartment has been sold, and his signature is on the documents. All that remains is to go to court. However, they will say that the sale of the apartment is valid
It is difficult to prove that it was not the victim who sold the apartment. The fraudster shares the money with an accomplice, and in the end the victim does not even suspect that this all happened because of his “close person”
Crazy Sellers
For this scheme, scammers find apartment owners who have mental health problems. Criminals put a sick apartment up for sale. When a buyer has been found for it, scammers offer the potential owners to write down in the deed a significantly smaller amount than the apartment is actually worth. The buyer will give the rest of the money outside the document.
Those who want to save on taxes will agree to this. In this way, the actual amount of the transaction is hidden, but this is a dangerous way to save, because all the papers are signed by a mentally ill person - an incapacitated person. The Buyer, not suspecting this circumstance, transfers the entire agreed amount to the representatives of the former owner of the apartment. People squeeze hands and say goodbye
After some time, when the premises are almost equipped by the new owners, “it suddenly turns out” that the seller was crazy. The purchase and sale transaction is declared invalid, and upon its termination, the victims are returned only the amount that was specified in the contract. The money that the victims transferred outside contracts are not recorded in any way and therefore you can forget about their return. In fact, people are left not only without housing, but also without the money with which they can buy a new one
The dead take away housing
This scam is very common in villages. Attackers collude with village council leaders and gain access to wills and other documents of recently deceased people
Thieves change some clauses or even completely rewrite the will The documents according to which the deceased bequeathed the apartment to his loved ones now have a completely different look The heirs of the deceased can only be surprised that they were not even mentioned in the will and the new owners of the property are unknown people Property received in this way scammers quickly sell through legal means to third parties
How to avoid becoming a victim of apartment scams
In order not to end up on the street with all your belongings, you need to adhere to a few basic rules.
1) If you are renting out an apartment, remember that the tenant does not have the right to carry out any major rearrangements or unapproved repairs in your house. If the tenant has completed some work in your house that has significantly increased its value, then he can already claim common property It is very difficult to evict such a tenant It is better to carry out repairs in your house in person, or enter into a preliminary written agreement with the tenant on this matter
2) It is always necessary to securely hide the originals of your documents. You must make copies of them, so that it does not happen when the only document on home ownership is “lost” somewhere.
3) If you have an apartment, but do not live in it permanently, then you should not leave it unattended for a sufficiently long period. Do not store important documents or valuables in it. Visit there from time to time to make sure everything is in order. If But there is no such possibility, ask a person you definitely trust about this. While you are traveling or living in another place, dodgers can already conduct inspections for new owners
4) It is worth paying careful attention to new “friends” who are too often interested in your apartment. Sometimes scammers disguised as social workers offer elderly and lonely people to sell a bad apartment in the center and move to more spacious and comfortable housing on the outskirts. The scammers promise to take over all problems with documents and the victims act as intermediaries. However, after all the transactions, the new apartment turns out to be much worse than the first
5) If you are planning to purchase a new home, you should contact reliable real estate agencies that have proven themselves in the market and have a reliable reputation. You can check whether the apartment is “clean” thanks to the open register of real estate. Before purchasing, make sure that all former owners, so that you do not purchase housing with a “makeweight” Remember that by buying housing from “black realtors” you will be left without money and without a home
