Impersonators posing as homeowners linked to 32 fraud cases in Ontario and B.C.
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Mortgage and title fraudsters who impersonate homeowners and tenants have targeted at least 32 properties in Ontario and British Columbia, investigators and official warnings suggest.
Mortgage and title fraudsters who impersonate homeowners and tenants have targeted at least 32 properties in Ontario and British Columbia, investigators and official warnings suggest.
Insurance investigator Brian King, president and CEO of King International Advisory Group, said his firm had received 30 such claims in Ontario.
They include six instances of "total title fraud" in which con artists pose as homeowners to list properties for sale.
In B.C., the Land Title and Survey Authority warned in 2021 that there had been two attempts of title fraud involving the impersonation of owners who lived abroad.
King said such impersonators had to put in performances worthy of an "Emmy Award," but they were not the only people involved in the scam.
"What you got to understand is that the people that are doing this, it's a group. It takes several people to make this process work," said King.
He said his firm was handling six claims of total title fraud, with several coming forward after recent media coverage of the fraud technique.
