Police in the greater Toronto area saw report after report arrive telling a similar story. Jewelry, coins, antiques, and other valuables were going missing from open houses. It didn’t take long for the tally to reach $100,000, when the police found they were dealing with a string of related robberies from a couple dubbed the “open house bandits.” Continue reading
Tag Archives: theft
New York Man Earns Big in $200,000 Scam
Due to the nature of real estate transactions, scams can be very lucrative. In this $200,000 scam, a New York man scored big. Continue reading
Are Realtor Lockboxes Safe?
A string of lockbox thefts came to an end when Arkansas police arrested Amanda Tester, an executive at Cooperative Arkansas Realtors Multiple Listings Services. One would hope that a licensed real estate agent would do the right thing, but readers of this site know that not all agents are as trustworthy as they would lead us to believe. Continue reading
Cops Shakedown Foreclosure Victims
Side businesses are common in America. Industrious workers with full-time jobs spend evenings and weekends working on building their own businesses striving for a little extra income or an opportunity to become a full-time entrepreneur. Some businesses, however, are not quite as savory as others. Continue reading
Realtor Caught Stealing on Camera
When you hand the keys over to your agent, you expect that they might do a little bit of cleanup before a tour, but generally your personal belongings should remain undisturbed. But when agents behave badly, they have full access to the entire contents of your home, including your wardrobe. Continue reading
Stealing Prescription Drugs from Open Houses
On occasion, most of us will end up with a prescription for a pain killer. Whether you had an injury, surgery, or illness, it is not uncommon to head home from the doctor’s office with Vicodin, Percocet, or another pain killer. But when left alone in an open house, you may find your drugs have gone missing. Continue reading
Open House Thief Caught
In Columbus, Ohio, police caught one of two suspects believed to be responsible for a number of area robberies that took place during Open Houses. When local Realtors first became aware of the problem they started photographing vehicle license plates of people entering their clients’ houses. These photos eventually helped to track down the suspects and catch one of them. Continue reading