A Southern California couple is sharing a warning to other potential homebuyers after they said they fell victim to a mortgage fraud scheme that nearly cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The couple, who asked ABC News to identify them only by their first names, Lynette and Scott, said the incident occurred when they were going to submit a down payment on a home.
They said they had been corresponding via email with their mortgage broker, when they received what looked like a message from the broker that contained a misspelled word in the sender’s email address.
Lynette and Scott, who asked ABC News not to use their last names, said they received an email with a misspelled word that led them to become victims of a mortgage fraud.
ABC News
“It was an exact duplicate of any correspondence that we’ve had with the company before,” Scott recalled, speaking with ABC News’ Aaron Katersky….
This involves defrauding the state or using government systems to steal from individuals.
- Tax Identity Theft: A criminal uses your ID and income details to file a tax return in your name and claim a refund before you do.
- Grant/Benefit Fraud: Falsely claiming unemployment, disability, or social grants that the perpetrator is not entitled to.