Protecting Your Clients from Autumn's Fraud Season

As Colorado's beautiful fall weather encourages residents to go outdoors, cybercriminals are working overtime indoors, developing complex schemes to target the real estate market. The period from October to December consistently sees the highest fraud activity, as scammers take advantage of holiday distractions and year-end transaction urgency.

The fraud landscape

Real estate fraud has evolved far beyond simple email scams. Today's criminals employ sophisticated social engineering methods, creating convincing personas and leveraging multiple communication channels to gain trust before launching their attacks.

Emerging threats to watch

AI-enhanced voice scams: Fraudsters now use artificial intelligence to clone voices, calling clients with convincing imitations of their Realtor or title officer to request sensitive information or wire transfers.

Rental deposit schemes are prevalent in Colorado's ski communities, where scammers post fake vacation rental listings and collect deposits from multiple victims for the same property.

Closing impersonation: Criminals review public records to gather transaction details, then call buyers pretending to be title company representatives with "urgent" wiring instruction updates.

Mortgage relief fraud: Scammers target homeowners with payment issues, offering fake assistance programs that require upfront fees or personal financial information.