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Published on February 5, 2024

An uptick in vacant land scams has been brought to the attention of staff at the Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS®.

Individual(s) have been trying to list vacant lots – and successfully doing so before the scam was soon caught – but they are fraudulently stating they represent the landowner. This activity has been heavily seen in North Whitehall Township, but this practice has been noted across the valley. The end goal is to find a buyer, have the buyer put down a deposit, and then the scammer(s) will steal the deposit. Some will specifically state a preference for a cash sale.

At least one police report has been filed.

Red flags to look out for:

  • The “seller” requests to sell a vacant property for less than its fair market value.
  • The “seller” only communicates electronically. Many of these imposters are out of state or from a different country and will decline face-to-face meetings.
  • The “seller” typically requests a remote closing using a remote notary – whom they’ll arrange on their own. Beware: The scammer may even impersonate the notary and provide fraudulent documents at closing.

To prevent this scam from happening to you, do your due diligence to verify that any person claiming to be the seller is the actual property owner. Ask for multiple forms of identification and proof of ownership and request a face-to-face meeting. Many of these scammers will only communicate electronically. Test the seller’s knowledge about the property using information beyond what can be found in public records or online.

Also, be cautious about any seller who arranges for a notary at closing on their own. Allow the title company to select a notary. If that’s not possible, make sure the notary is a vetted, independent and approved remote online notary. Before transferring any funds in a transaction, ask the seller to provide a copy of a voided check with a disbursement authorization form.

For more information on this scam, watch this Window to the Law video from the National Association of REALTORS® video – Window to the Law: Avoiding Vacant Land Scams.