Owner’s property sold without his knowledge by scammers. At least they used a real estate agent.
Apparently it’s pretty easy to sell houses in Perth, Australia, as one property owner found out when he discovered his $485,000 investment property had been sold by scammers posing as the property’s owners. The sale occurred in June 2010 and was conducted by a series of emails and phone calls claiming the owner needed to sell his duplex due to financial hardship. Naturally, the real estate agent and the settlement agents were more than happy to help. “Consumer Protection Commissioner Anne Driscoll said real estate agents and settlement agents had been sent urgent bulletins warning them of the scam.” But hey, a buck’s a buck right? Worst of all, he may owe capital gains tax even though he probably will not receive one cent from the sale. However, I bet the lawsuit against the real estate agent and settlement agents will more than make up for it. We wish him the best of luck.