Thoughts for the Portland area real estate market. We are local experts for Portland as well as the adjoining cities of Aloha, Beaverton, Canby, Durham, Gladstone, Gresham, Happy Valley, Hillsboro, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Newberg, Oregon City, Sherwood, Tigard, Tualatin, West Linn, and Wilsonville.
Foreign Phone Number Scam Targets Real Estate Agents
This is becoming a problem here in the Portland metro area, and I'm sure it is not limited to Oregon. From our local MLS provider: |
We’ve received reports of an alleged scam targeted at real estate agents. In this particular case, an e-mail is sent to the agent and the sender says that they want to schedule a showing, but that
they want the agent to call them at their foreign phone number because they are only checking e-mail periodically.
It appears that
the phone number is a "premium rate number" where the dialer of the number is charged for the phone call, while the owner of the number receives a payment for each call that is made. Needless to say, the potential client is non-existent.
Please be wary of any new contacts that approach you and verify as much information about them as possible. Report any similar incidents to the MLS.
*Tip: If you ever find an e-mail or phone call suspicious, try entering information or a phrase about the scam (or directly from the e-mail) into a search engine. Victims, or near victims of scams will often post their experiences on the Internet so others won’t fall victim.
So, be careful out there!
Phil Anderson
(503) 789-8701
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