Nigerian Scam Artist Swipes & Sells Deed To Cape Coral Lot; Leaves Listing Agent With Egg On Face, Title Insurer Holding The Bag

In Cape Coral, Florida, the News Press reports:

• Roberta Kunda thought she was buying a vacant lot in Cape Coral. Instead, $18,000 of her money went to a computer-savvy scam artist — possibly in Nigeria. Because she had title insurance, Kunda will probably get back her money from the 2007 purchase, but the incident highlights cracks in the real estate market and the risk from international scammers who are growing more sophisticated.

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• Kunda went through a reputable RE/MAX realtor, paid for a title search and filed all the proper paperwork. But somehow, the real estate agent, title company and an underwriter on the title insurance all missed the fact that the seller was a scam artist who never owned the property [...]. Whoever posed as the seller on Kunda's property had the Deed Warranty notarized in Lagos, Nigeria. That address, [a manager at a local title agency] said, should have triggered a red flag. It did not.

For more, see Internet scammer sells Cape Coral residential lot for $18,000. KappaDeedTheft