Hey, My First Real Estate Scam! or, How Do I Know I Can Trust You?

It's a big day when your first attempted real estate scam appears to be a newer one on the scene, so it seemed like a great time to share all the details with my friends in the Houston real estate community. It comes in the form of a customer who's dying to meet but terrified to talk, has an ancient computer interface, doesn't know what the Microsoft store or FaceTime are, and forgets to hide the evidence of ChatGPT in their texts. 

What more could you want? Let's get into it. 

Target: New Listings

First of all, this scam appears to be targeting new listings the minute they hit the MLS. Today alone, I was able to verify that the scammer in question came after two listings that had gone live that day.

Clue: Inconsistent Language + AI Use

The opening salvo was a message sent to the listing broker: great grammar, enthusiastically worded, very likely ChatGPT. 

Clues sprouted. The message used boilerplate wording like "I really love what I've seen so far. I would like to learn more about the home and possibly schedule a time to view it." All fine, of course, but the next sentence raises questions: "Could you please provide me with more details about the property and the next steps?" Given that a great listing on the MLS is as detailed as we can make it, with up to 27 photos and lots of notes, "more details about the property" makes one wonder exactly what else they were unable to ascertain from the listing itself. But hey, that's what agents are for, right? 

Upon reaching out to the customer, they requested a Zoom call to meet face to face. Sure, why not? Sounds like a great way to get to know a potential client. The meeting was set up via text, which is where my secret weapon comes into play: I used to be a high school teacher. And text message is not an ideal medium for scamming a high school teacher. 

Messaging introduces our next set of clues: inconsistent grammar and more AI use. Sentences like "Remind me 5 min to the meeting please" and "I'm trying to join it not letting me" mix with phrases like "That way, we can have a clear and direct conversation before moving forward." Also fun: the scammer forgot to reformat messages copied from AI, so they occasionally came through in bold and with quotation marks still attached. (My freshman wouldn't ever have been that messy.)

Now, I'm not going to judge anyone for using AI in a text conversation, particularly if they're not 100% confident in their English proficiency, style, or professionalism. But it's good to note -- if you're communicating with a buyer or seller with inconsistent grammar, keep your eyes sharp. 

Scam in Motion: The Zoom Call

At the time of the Zoom call, the customer found they couldn't join. Technical difficulties! Odd, but not unheard of. Odder: the screenshot they sent to prove it's not working stated the Zoom client was out of date and was attempting to redirect to the Microsoft store. It also sported a mammoth cursor that i haven't seen since 1999. 

Now we arrive at the bait-and-switch. My Zoom was just working earlier today. Now it's trying to send me to the Microsoft store. This is weird. Can I just send you a link from my Zoom?

Sure, I'm flexible! But when that link attempts to redirect me to download a DIFFERENT version of Zoom from a website that is very decidedly not the official Zoom website or the Microsoft store, I fear I must draw the line. 

The Negotiation Phase: How Do I Know I Can Trust YOU?

Thus began a tiresome round of pressure attempts:

• It's fine!
• There's nothing wrong with my Zoom!
• I have another meeting in a few minutes. Please don't make me late.
• Why is your link trying to redirect me to Microsoft? That makes no sense. 
• How do I know you're not trying to virus me? 
• How do I know i can trust you? (Real quote)

All of this interspersed with my polite refusal to jeopardize my own computer and potentially my clients' privileged information, my offer to do a phone call, a FaceTime call, or a WhatsApp call, and my calm explanation of what the Microsoft store is, why Zoom might need to update, and the difference between official Zoom software and unofficial Zoom software. 

In the end, after repeatedly saying this would not work as I would not compromise my safety and that their behavior was unreasonable and suspicious, I was informed (huffily), the 'customer' was going to go to another agent about this property. I wished them well, reported their phone number and email address as phishing attempts, ensured nothing downloaded, and ran a virus scan. 

The Takeaway

This was a more entertaining scam attempt among scam attempts, I must admit. The attempts at manipulation were clumsy and the explanations, replies, and screenshots provided as evidence were amateurish. Even better, one of the screenshots sent to me as 'evidence' that, in fact, MY Zoom link had infected THEIR computer, showed that the scammer had downloaded an info sheet on another property from the MLS, which allowed me to find that property, contact the agent, and warn them about the scam. (They'd already experienced it, and successfully dodged the bullet.)

Houston is a fantastic real estate market, but like all markets, it can be tough for realtors, especially if you're still learning the ropes. Scams will evolve and get more sophisticated, particularly as AI tools that can help them become more effective. At this point, we can be grateful for the unskilled and clumsy scammers out there, but I wanted all my colleagues to know what's going around so they can keep their computers and communiques clean. Remember, a great realtor will always want to help you, and a great client will always want to talk to you, even if it's not on Zoom. 

Happy selling, Houston! May your clients be real, your conversations productive, and your showings successful.