How CertifID Match Stops Seller Impersonation Fraud

Fraud can feel abstract, and the risk might not seem real until it impacts your business. Real-life examples of fraud can highlight the importance of having tools to protect yourself without suffering a catastrophic loss. 

For example, we can tell real estate and title agents to be cautious of seller impersonation fraud. But what does seller impersonation fraud look like when you and your client are actually targeted? Let's walk through an example and how you could prevent it with an identity verification tool along the way.

Stopping a Seller Impersonation Fraud Attempt

In the example below, we will use "seller" to indicate the fraudster as they are impersonating the property's legitimate owner. 

1. The fraudster finds a target

The "seller" (our fraudster) identifies a property they want to sell—in this case, a piece of vacant land. They gather all the information needed about the property through public records. This is the most frightening part of seller impersonation fraud: no compromise must occur. Even though your client’s email, social security number, driver's license, and other PII may never have been stolen, they can still be a victim.

‍

2. The fraudster makes contact

The "seller" sends an email to the listing agent. The agent then asks for more information about the property, but unfortunately, the "seller" has all these answers since they are publicly available. 

🛑 Stop the fraud

This is the first opportunity for identity verification technology to save the day. If the listing agent had sent a CertifID Match request to the "seller," this fraud story would be over. We recommend always treating vacant land sales as potential fraud because fraud is prevalent in this transaction.

💡 How this happens: To complete the identity verification, the agent would enter the name and email address or phone number of the "seller" into CertifID. The "seller" would receive a text or email asking them to scan their government-issued ID and take a selfie. This ensures the ID is valid by scanning barcodes and looking for other fraud markers. It also proves that the ID matches the person in the selfie and that they are a real person. 

In many cases, the fraudster would not move forward and complete the identity verification step. Once they see that you use a platform like CertifId, they will refuse to complete the verification. This is obviously a red flag and indicates the seller is fraudulent. 

‍‍

3. The agent pushes the deal forward

Let’s assume the listing agent did not verify the seller's identity early on and proceeded with the sale. The agent asks the "seller" to meet him at the property, but the "seller" says he is out of town (that's red flag #1). 

The agent visits the land and proceeds with the sale. He tells the "seller" that a notary must be present at the closing, and the title company will provide one. The "seller" says he wants to use his notary and to send him the closing documents (that's red flag #2). You should always use a notary you know and trust. 

The listing agent asks for the "seller's" ID before sending the closing documents. The "seller" returns his passport (that's red flag #3, as most people use their driver's license). It looked legitimate on the surface, as the name and address were correct. However, the numbers at the bottom of the passport did not match the "seller." Unfortunately, our title agent couldn't catch this with the human eye. 

🛑 Stop the Fraud

‍This is another perfect time to use CertifID Match. In this example, if the "seller" had submitted that passport, it would have immediately been marked "high risk" because the barcode didn't match the name on the ID. 

‍

‍

4. The agent attempts to collect information

Next, the title agent sends a CertifID Collect request, asking the "seller" where funds should be sent. It also verifies his identity by analyzing more than 150 fraud markers and requiring the "seller" to answer dynamic knowledge-based questions. He immediately fails this request, and CertifID sends a high-risk notification to the title agent. 

💡 How this happens: CertifID's Collect product flagged this fraudulent seller before any funds were transferred. While this still was a positive result, we always recommend verifying the seller's identity earlier in the transaction to save time spent on a fraudulent deal. 

‍

5. The agent sets the trap

Now that the title and listing agents are aware of the fraud, they continue to follow the "seller" to help law enforcement catch him. 

The title agent sends our fraudulent "seller" the closing documents, which he completes and returns. But there are more red flags. The notary that the seller used was not registered. Also, the county listed for the notary didn't exist in that state. 

The title agent also tracked the origination location of the FedEx package the closing documents were sent in and discovered it was sent from a completely different state. 

As one last step, they asked the "seller" to provide his driver's license, which they said they needed for closing. In this case, the driver's license was legitimate, which means the actual owner of the property must have had their identity compromised. 

🛑 Stop the Fraud

‍Thankfully, with CertifID Match, even though the "seller" had the legitimate ID of the property owner, it still would have failed the identity verification. 

💡 How this happens: Match scans the barcode to ensure the ID is legitimate, but the "seller" would also need to take a selfie to confirm that they are the person on the ID. Also, in this case, the "seller" had photoshopped his picture onto the actual ID, which would not have gotten through the verification process either. 

‍

So, did you catch the fraudster?

If only it were that easy. In this fictional case, thanks to the cooperation of the actual property owner and the listing and title agent, law enforcement collected a lot of valuable information about this fraudster. They will use this and other fraud cases to continue building a case.

If seller impersonation fraud is a concern, Match can ensure you feel more confident from the beginning. For more on Match, request a demo.