Scammers impersonate real estate companies to scam investors (illustration). (Pixabay / AlexanderStein)
The Federation of Real Estate Companies (FEI) warns of a scam. Criminals usurp the identity of certain member companies in order to deceive real estate investors. Several complaints have already been filed and some victims have lost up to 400,000 euros.
Criminals usurp the identities of companies in the real estate field in order to attract and then defraud potential investors. This is revealed by the Federation of Real Estate Companies (FEI), which has several victims among its members, reports
Capital
.
A well-established method
The criminals use the name of the company but also the logo or the signature of the leaders to create a fake website.
“The usurpers reproduce with attention to detail […] real estate companies in order to make their fraudulent offers credible”
I explained to the FEI.
Investors are then put under pressure to make quick real estate investments via fake SCPI shares, fake savings books or fake real estate assets. Victims receive one or two payments before the criminals disappear.
A word of advice: always be vigilant
Complaints have already been filed and some victims have lost up to 400,000 euros, according to the EIF. Faced with this scam, the Federation recommends that you be extra vigilant by following three tips: check the contact details of the real estate company yourself, check the company’s e-mail addresses and consult on the common AMF platform (authority of the financial markets) and the ACPR (the banking and insurance policeman) the summary table of unauthorized players and sites.
