Special offer
John DL Arendsen, Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer (CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments)

Spam prevention
Rainmaker
5,772,575
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

John,

I received a similar one.  In this case he was hard of hearing, so he did not want to speak on the phone as he was hard of hearing. Also note that a person who could afford that price would be able to spell proof of funds, as opposed to prove of fun.   We are super careful, we don't even click links from our bank.  A

Feb 18, 2015 07:22 AM
Rainer
105,987
Chris Mamone
Keller Mortgage - Tacoma, WA
Senior Loan Officer

Thank you for the heads up. I'll be sure to keep my eyes open for that. I wish people would stop doing that online. I find viruses and emails looking for personal info annoying.

Feb 19, 2015 05:22 AM
Rainmaker
463,619
Kim Boekholder Utah Real Estate/ PECO
Results Real Estate 801.580.5624 - Draper, UT
Broker Results Real Estate/Leasing Specialist PECO

I just received something similar to this but they asked me to click on their google drive file to find the homes they were interested in.   I have had some strange " I'm a cash buyer" situations lately.  I did not click on it, but yes the scammers are out there.   I explained why I do not open links and to please send me the homes they are interested in MLS or address numbers or call me.  NO reply from them......

Feb 19, 2015 01:17 AM
Rainmaker
921,504
Annette Lawrence , Palm Harbor, FL 727-420-4041
ReMax Realtec Group - Palm Harbor, FL
Making FLORIDA Real Estate EZ

So may have replied that this message looks incredibly similar to the 'leads' we often receive that are legitimate. To simply discard such a message could be denying a home buyer the opportunity to benefit from your vast reservoirs of experience and knowledge. 

Of course you don't click the links but you can reply and escalate the buyer level of commitment.  That means, if they won't provide a telephone number, they are not going to buy.

Have some fun. Use a disposable Yahoo address for such purposes.

Feb 18, 2015 09:26 PM
Ambassador
2,436,099
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

Thanks for the warning.  I don't click on links, even if they are from people I know unless they already told me to expect it!  

Feb 18, 2015 07:14 PM
Rainmaker
634,482
Kathleen Luiten
Resort and Second-Home Specialist - Princeville, HI
Kauai Luxury Ocean Home Sales

Not this exact email but similar ones go into my spam occasionally.

Feb 18, 2015 06:07 PM
Rainmaker
1,683,912
Larry Johnston
Broker, Friends & Neighbors Real Estate and Elkhart County Subdivisions, LLC - Elkhart, IN
Broker,Friends & Neighbors Real Estate, Elkhart,IN

Yes, I received  one similar within the last 2 weeks.  Like all the rest, I have gotten in the past, it went to the trash.

Feb 18, 2015 10:01 AM
Ambassador
2,161,048
Silvia Dukes PA, Broker Associate, CRS, CIPS, SRES
Tropic Shores Realty - Ich spreche Deutsch! - Spring Hill, FL
Florida Waterfront and Country Club Living

John, I would definitely change my password and also run a virus scan.  If they have your google password, they can hijack your account or get to your contacts. Not sure what else these people can do but that would probably the least they can do. All the best. 

Feb 18, 2015 09:24 AM
Rainmaker
746,373
Wayne Johnson
Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper REALTORS® - San Antonio, TX
San Antonio REALTOR, San Antonio Homes For Sale

John-This is not one I've seen but thanks for the notice. Hope something bad happens to the sender.

Feb 18, 2015 08:49 AM
Ambassador
2,161,048
Silvia Dukes PA, Broker Associate, CRS, CIPS, SRES
Tropic Shores Realty - Ich spreche Deutsch! - Spring Hill, FL
Florida Waterfront and Country Club Living

Yes, I got this a while ago and blogged about it. It's a phishing scam where they sent you to a fake dropbox page asking you to sign in.  Once you do, they have your password.  

Feb 18, 2015 07:45 AM
Rainmaker
3,988,007
Debbie Reynolds, C21 Platinum Properties
Platinum Properties- (931)771-9070 - Clarksville, TN
The Dedicated Clarksville TN Realtor-(931)320-6730

I have gotten something similar over the last couple of years. Million dollar buyers do not communicate this way. A couple of agents in my office also got it and we collaborated to send different responses. I didn't get a reply.

Feb 18, 2015 07:34 AM
Rainer
213,263
Dennis Swartz
Full Circle Property Management - Columbus, OH
MBA, GRI...experience counts!

Nothing yet but thanks for the warning

 

Feb 18, 2015 06:25 AM
Ambassador
6,393,154
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

We do get plenty of fishy emails.

Oct 26, 2019 10:26 PM
Rainmaker
4,800,082
Gabe Sanders
Real Estate of Florida specializing in Martin County Residential Homes, Condos and Land Sales - Stuart, FL
Stuart Florida Real Estate

I have seen them.

Jan 29, 2018 05:51 AM
Ambassador
734,952
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

Kim Boekholder Utah Real Estate Very smart lady you are not to open the Google drive because therein lies the open door to your goodies.

Feb 19, 2015 11:23 PM
Ambassador
734,952
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

Eric Kodner Au Contraire my friend. I often recieve inquires from some pretty upscale folks that didn't proof read their messages or spell check made a phonetics mistake. Happens to me often. Lot's of folks are in a big hurry whence emialing and push em as fast as they can.

Feb 18, 2015 11:33 PM
Ambassador
734,952
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

Annette Lawrence Spot on! You nailed it. In my coastal/beach North San Diego County it's not unusual to recieve inquires from high end buyers who set price points because they don't want to be bothered with properties that don't fit their buying criteria. 

Me thinks a lot of the commets on this thread were written by contributors who didn't take the time to read the entire message and just decided to paint it with a broad brush.

Feb 18, 2015 11:30 PM
Rainmaker
5,868,482
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

I get those all the time, and cannot hit the delete button fast enough!  

Feb 18, 2015 10:27 PM
Rainmaker
432,037
Eric Kodner
Wayzata Lakes Realty: Eric Kodner Sells Twin Cities Homes - Minnetonka, MN
Wayzata Lakes Realty: Twin Cities, Madeline Island

Alexandra Seigel makes a very good point in her comment above.  A buyer who is capable of purchasing a home in the price range stated in that phishing email can probably spell. The use of periods instead of commas in the writer's desired price range is a bit "phishy" as well. 

Feb 18, 2015 09:15 PM
Rainmaker
1,422,272
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

There are so many schemes out there to take advantage of us.  Thanks for the warning.

 

Feb 18, 2015 08:58 PM
Rainmaker
5,104,931
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

If I get a message like this from someone I don't know, I never click through. I automatically assume it's spam.

Feb 18, 2015 08:45 PM
Rainmaker
1,139,819
Russ Ravary ~ Metro Detroit Realtor call (248) 310-6239
Real Estate One - Commerce, MI
Michigan homes for sale ~ yesmyrealtor@gmail.com

The spelling mistakes is one way of seeing it is a fake and then you should ask for an address.  Never open links from people you do not know.  

Feb 18, 2015 07:51 PM
Ambassador
734,952
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

Silvia Dukes PA, REALTOR Big thanks! Will definitely do that.

Feb 18, 2015 07:22 PM
Ambassador
734,952
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

Inna Ivchenko Didn't appear to be the least bit suspicious. That's the point. It just looked like a typical email lead I often get so I opened it. Nothing unusual until I got the warning sign from Google. It was a pretty new and slick way of spamming. Not looking for advice. Just sharing an experience and trying to warn others in my sphere of influence.

Feb 18, 2015 07:20 PM
Ambassador
734,952
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

Kat Palmiotti Wasn't a link. It was an email that looked as much like a lead as others I often receive.

Feb 18, 2015 07:17 PM
Ambassador
734,952
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

Kathleen Luiten Thanks! Good to know.

Feb 18, 2015 07:16 PM
Rainmaker
1,622,432
Inna Ivchenko
Barcode Properties - Encino, CA
Realtor® • GRI • HAFA • PSC Calabasas CA

I receive 'suspicios' messages all the time and I just delete them. It is the price for having all our personal information( phone, emails, network accounts, etc.) public.

Feb 18, 2015 04:52 PM
Rainmaker
856,021
Mark Don McInnes, Sandpoint-Idaho
Sandpoint Realty LLC - Sandpoint, ID
North Idaho Real Estate - 208-255.6227

I do not touch any links from people I do not know.  If I get as far as opening a mail like this I just delete it.  I don't think just opening the mail allows them into your computer.  Only hitting a link or maybe replying.  But definitely do not hit ANY links.  Mark

Feb 18, 2015 01:56 PM
Rainmaker
2,224,473
Debbie Laity
Cedaredge Land Company - Cedaredge, CO
Your Real Estate Resource for Delta County, CO

I get these sometimes. I just ignore them. I wish people would find a more constructive use of their time. 

Feb 18, 2015 12:38 PM
Rainmaker
3,986,258
William Feela
WHISPERING PINES REALTY - North Branch, MN
Realtor, Whispering Pines Realty 651-674-5999 No.

I have not seen this one but simalar ones.  Tahnks for the heads up

Feb 18, 2015 11:41 AM
Rainmaker
1,771,867
Noah Seidenberg
Coldwell Banker - Evanston, IL
Chicagoland and Suburbs (800) 858-7917

I have seen similar ones. I never ever click links unless I know where it came from. 

Feb 18, 2015 11:29 AM
Rainmaker
2,443,250
Evelyn Johnston
Friends & Neighbors Real Estate - Elkhart, IN
The People You Know, Like and Trust!

No I have not gotten it, but appreciate the heads up.  There are scammer around every corner!

Feb 18, 2015 10:28 AM
Ambassador
734,952
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

Dennis Swartz Welome! 

Feb 18, 2015 08:54 AM
Ambassador
734,952
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

Wayne Johnson Me too. But I'm just hoping something bad doesn't happen to me.

Feb 18, 2015 08:53 AM
Ambassador
734,952
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

Ron & Alexandra Seigel Great comment and thanks. However, it could have been as simple as a spell check issue. I've had it happen often whence writing and neglected to correct it. Especially when it's a phrase and not a single work. Easy to overlook.

Feb 18, 2015 08:52 AM
Ambassador
734,952
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

Debbie Reynolds Thanks! However, I think it really depends on the market. It's not totally unusual for M$ buyers to set their parameters in an email. I've received a few of them over the years.

Feb 18, 2015 08:49 AM
Ambassador
734,952
John DL Arendsen
CREST "BACKYARD' HOMES, ON THE LEVEL General & Manufactured Home Contractor, TAG Real Estate Sales & Investments - Leucadia, CA
Crest Backyard Homes "ADU" dealer & RE Developer

Silvia Dukes PA, REALTOR Big Oops! Is it too late to change my PW? What can they get from an email if that's the only thing that my PW is assigned to?

Feb 18, 2015 08:47 AM