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Fraudsters using name of US’s largest property trade body in real estate deposit scam

The fraudsters claim that the NAR, the US's largest property trade association, is acting as an intermediary to receive rental deposits and give tenants the details of an NAR agent in the UK for payments.

But the NAR has never carried out this function and is warning would be property tenants to beware.

'NAR is not involved in this business and has contacted law enforcement officials to request that the matter be investigated. We encourage any consumers who may be affected to file a complaint,' said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The scam claims that on receipt of a deposit, NAR will deliver the keys to the property to the tenant. Prospective tenants are instructed to send money via Western Union to NAR's purported agent in the UK.

Some of the listings have been posted on Craigslist, which reportedly has had difficulty in tracing the original listings. NAR does not have an escrow service, or function as an intermediary to receive rental deposits.

Consumers who have encountered this scam may file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center, sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center.

'Our mission is not only to protect consumers in the real estate transaction, but also guard them against fraud,' McMillan added.

The NAR represents 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

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