Real Estate Scams and How to Prevent Them

Reviewed October 2026. Common risks include fake listings, rental scams, title fraud, mortgage fraud, down-payment wire fraud, assignment scams and home-improvement scams.

Protect money and identity

Verify the property, identities, ownership and professional licences. Never rely on emailed changes to banking instructions. Call the lawyer or recipient using a trusted number you already have, not the number in the suspicious message.

Watch for pressure

Urgency, unusually low prices, requests for cash or cryptocurrency, refusal to meet, requests for unnecessary personal information and instructions to bypass a lawyer are warning signs.

If you are targeted

Contact your financial institution, police, credit bureaus, land-title authority and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre as appropriate. Keep evidence and change compromised passwords.

Title insurance can address some risks, but coverage depends on the policy. This is general information, not legal or insurance advice.

Official source: https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/rights-responsibilities/protection-scams/real-estate-fraud.html