Email Scams!!

They have been around for a long time--the Nigerian e-mail, 419, advanced fee scams--you know the ones. The perpetrators send a random e-mail or fax stating they are from a foreign country and need assistance getting large sums of cash out of their country. All the recipient has to do is send them wiring instructions and provide some personal information. The e-mail claims the participant who assists will be compensated for his/her efforts with a flat fee or a percentage of the funds.

Here are some partial examples of scams received by escrow companies such as ours:

This is an official requisition for your Escrow services on behalf of Germany S.U.G. Group Co., Ltd.

We are based in China and our principal activity is Supplies and manufacturing of Machineries and Tools. we have a dire need for USA liaison/receiving representative to assist us with receiving payments from our delinquent customers in USA, indebted to us in quite substantial and various amounts of monies and we request for your services accordingly.

And...

My name is Mr. Ping Chang. I work with a senior investment consultant for the DBS Capital Investment Ltd. here in Hong Kong. I also work as part of the regional team that covers the entire Asian region. I had taken pains to find your contact through personal endeavors.

Approximately five years ago, an investor (Mr. Anthony-deceased nine months ago) invested a total of US $22.5m (Twenty Two Million, five hundred thousand United State Dollars) with my department. With interest at today's value....

The email goes on to request money from the receiver (as they all do). We have seen these and other less obvious email scams in our local offices. One transaction required a buyer to deposit a 10k earnest check with our office. Instead, the customer gives us a check for 106k and asked for us to wire back the difference before the check bounced!

These are not just internet scams that pray on the general public. There are lots of scams aimed at real estate professionals under the guise of purchasing property or developing a new subdivision. The Secret Service has this message posted to their Web site:

"If you have received an e-mail or fax from someone you do not know requesting your assistance in a financial transaction, such as the transfer of a large sum of money into an accounty, or claiming you are the next of kin to a wealthy person who has died, or the winner of some obscure lottery, DO NOT respond. These requests are typically sent through public servers via a generic "spammed" e-mail message. Usually, the sender does not yet know your personal e-mail address and is depending on you to respond. Once you reply, even to tell them you are not interested, they will often continue to e-mail you in an attempt to harass or intimidate you. If you receive an unsolicited e-mail of this nature, the best course is to simply delete the message."

Taken in part from Fraud Insights Newsletter Volume 5, Issue 6--Fidelity National Financial

Execution of Documents

How documents are executed (or signed) can be one of the single most important factors of how enforceable a contract may be in case of a dispute. Anytime the property is being sold, the seller should reflect the actual title owner and any spouse. There are exceptions to the spouse rule, of course, but generally speaking on residential property you will include the spouse whether listed as an owner or not.

If the record title owner is deceased, that title owner should NEVER be listed as the seller on the contract. If the deceased owner had a will and probated the will, then the court appointed representative will be listed as the seller.
For example: Paula Hester, Independent Executor for the Estate of Mickey Mouse, deceased.
It is really important that the seller's capacity be listed--Independent Executor, Dependent Executor, etc.

If the deceased seller died without a will, then we would simply list all of the heirs individually as the sellers. Each seller/heir would be required to sign all documents. To determine the heirs without a will, Affidavits of Heirship would be prepared.

If the record title owner is a coporation, then the corporation name will be listed as the seller.
For example: Fidelity National Title Agency, Inc.
The documents will be signed by an authorized corporate representative and would be listed like this: Mickey Mouse, President World Wide Cartoons, Inc.

Another common type of sellers are Trusts. A Trust seller would look like this:
Paula Hester, Trustee of the Paula Hester Living Trust.
The contract signature line would look the same as above.

If the parties are using a Power of Attorney, the seller would be the actual seller's name, but the signature line would look like this: Paula Hester, by Mickey Mouse Attorney in Fact.

There are many different types of entities that you may encounter as sellers or buyers! Don't be afraid to ask questions or look to us for assistance in completing your contracts!

Paula Hester
Escrow Admin DFW