Home Inspectors Latest to be Targeted by Scammers
- Check scammers have zeroed in on.... home inspectors
- This is a familiar scam notable only for its target
- Scammers monitor trends and ID'ed home inspectors as vulnerable
We've noted before in this space that scammers are getting more and more clever and specialized as time goes on, and this story from WKRN in Tennessee is a good example.
Having noted a prospering housing market in middle Tennessee as people are moving to the region, scammers have begun to prey upon, of all people, home inspectors.
It’s a fairly simple scam. A home inspector will receive a message asking for their services, but when the alleged client sends the check, it never clears.
“My name is Jason Samuel. I am wanting to know if you are available,” read Michael Daggett, a home inspector. “On a house that I am interested in purchasing. Let me know if you can get it done, and get back to me with your quote.”
It starts with a text message from a fake person, claiming to want a home inspection done. It’s a pretty common request, which is why it can be easy to fall for this scam.
“We’ll schedule the home inspection and then they will immediately send over a check, but when you look at the check it will be $50 or $25 over what the actual inspection cost is,” explained Daggett.
A Familiar Check Fraud Scam
Then it's the old reliable "funds available vs. check cleared" scam: the bad guy will then ask the inspector to send the difference in money back to them -- before the original check clears. Daggett, who is owner of Inspector Daggett and has years of experience in the industry, told News 2 that this type of scam is becoming popular across Middle Tennessee. He's spoken to another inspector in the Mt. Juliet area who received the exact same message.
“I’ve seen it in the past, but it seems there is an uptick recently. So, I’m not sure if they are trying to canvass just Nashville or maybe they are just going everywhere,” said Daggett.
Once again, scammers are opportunists and more than willing to evolve their techniques to fit current events.
“Scammers are always looking at the headlines, and they might see that Nashville is a booming industry that’s having a lot of construction happening right now, and they are going to take not of that, and so it’s very likely that this is just the beginning fo this season,” explained Caleb Nix with the Better Business Bureau in Middle Tennessee & Southern Kentucky.
Check Fraud Prevention: Information is Key
These types of scams are best addressed by customer education -- knowing the difference between "funds available" and "cleared," for instance. Far too many people believe that banks add funds immediately into your account after a check has been deposited; this is, of course, only the first step.
It can be as simple as ensuring that depositors know what the discrepancy in the amount listed for Account Balance and Available Balance means. The Available Balance indicates, of course, the amount a depositor has at their disposal, whereas and the Account Balance shows the total amount in your account -- including funds that have yet to clear. The Expedited Funds Availability Act, enacted in 1987 to standardize the hold periods on deposits, require banks to provide fund availability disclosures and notices to customers for when their funds will be available for withdrawal.
On the back end for banks, it is important that they invest in the newest and latest technologies, combining transaction-analytics with image forensic AI to deploy the most effective solution possible for check fraud detection and prevention for themselves and their customers.