According to C.A.R., there are some bad people out there who are pretending to be from utility companies and trying to scam real estate agents. They are getting the agents’ contact details from property listings. These scammers say that the person who owns the property hasn’t paid their electric bill and that their utility services could be disconnected. They also tell the real estate agent that if the bill isn’t paid, they won’t be able to show the property to potential buyers. The scammers then ask the agent to tell the property owner to pay the bill by calling a phone number and using things like pre-paid cards, bitcoin, or payment apps such as Zelle or Venmo. Don’t fall for this!
If a REALTOR® gets a call like this, they should tell the property owner to contact their utility company directly and report what happened.
