
Guilford police are issuing a warning to residents after a person allegedly tried to sell land that didn't belong to them.
The police department said they received a complaint about property title fraud on Jan. 1.
A realtor was contacted by a scammer posing as a property owner looking to sell land in Guilford, police said.
The land was near another home, so the realtor reached out to them to ask if they'd be interested in purchasing it. After expressing interest, the neighbors worked with attorneys to settle the deal.
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Since the person claiming to own the land was out-of-town, the transaction happened over the phone. Police said the sale was made and when the new owners got in touch with another neighbor, they discovered that the whole transaction was fraudulent.
Authorities said it's the first time they've received a complaint like this in town, but noted it's a growing trend across the country.
A few months ago, we reported on a similar incident that happened in Easton.
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Detectives and federal authorities froze the account the money had been wired to for the land purchase, preventing the scammer from accessing the funds.
"But where there is one, there will be more," Guilford police said in a statement. "Criminals of this type of crime are very savvy and will continue to commit title frauds."
The Town of Guilford has a free program for property owners to register for alerts if someone tries to change their property title. For more information, click here.
The investigation into the fraudulent transaction remains ongoing.