YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The latest in what the Ohio Department of Commerce is calling a “concerning trend” in real estate scams almost found new victims in Youngstown.

It started with one phone call, and then another: real estate agents from multiple companies wanted to verify that Amy Watson-Carelly and her husband, James Carelly, were actually selling their property on Bear’s Den Road. But Amy told 21 News in an interview Friday that the couple, who currently lives in Florida, plans to build a home on the vacant lot and had no intention to sell. 

Not long after, the Carellys got a text from the man who upkeeps the lot, showing a screenshot of an online listing of the property. This time, the website said a sale was pending, listed by Brighton Realty & Management. 

“I was very upset, of course, that there's people out there that would even try to do this, but that due diligence was not completed before listing. … [The real estate agent] could have sent an overnight letter to our address saying, ‘Hey, this is what's happening,’ but that never happened. And until I contacted them, I don't know if they were ever going to contact us like the other realtors did,” Amy said.

“Any of us in the business world, we know that there's fraudsters, and we have checklists, we have red flags, we have everything,” she later added.

The scam involves individuals using personal information to impersonate property owners, then seeking to fraudulently sell the property for cash. After receiving payment, they disappear on the would-be buyers, leaving them with nothing in return. 

Tom Brockman, deputy chief communications officer for the Ohio Department of Commerce, said a “number of things” about the Carellys’ property may have led to it being targeted. This included the fact that it was vacant, that the couple lives out of state, that they did not have a mortgage and that the value of the land is less than $25,000.

“It’s low enough that a potential victim could pay cash and not have to go through the mortgage process, which would potentially catch this before the transaction is completed,” Brockman said. 

“The Division [of Real Estate and Professional Licensing] encourages anyone who owns property that meets this criteria to be aware of this risk and take necessary precautions, including asking neighbors to alert them in the event they see any suspicious activity such as a for sale sign, or any advertising that mentions the address.”

The ODOC has also shared tips and safeguards for real estate licensees to avoid falling for the scam. Most of them center on staying vigilant and cautious with real estate transactions — for example, by requesting photo identification, checking ownership details with the county auditor and recorder, and resisting pressure from clients to rush into listing agreements. 

Kathy Miller, real estate broker at Brighton Realty, maintains that the real estate agent who listed the property did do their due diligence in the transaction. Miller said the company did not ask for photo ID because it does not require them for any sale, as the title company is supposed to request one. 

The scammer, whose identity is unknown, used fake phone numbers and email addresses to communicate with the agency. Miller also told 21 News the scammer was “pretty smart” and knew a lot about the property. 

“He was answering the questions as if he was the owner of the property, very good at it. … We were not as suspicious, probably, as we should have been, but there was no red flag, nothing jumped out,” Miller said. 

It wasn’t until the contracting stage that the agent noticed anything strange. 

“My associate, she was a little suspicious of the way the contract was initialed,” Miller said. “It wasn't typically initialed the way, like, a U.S. citizen would sign something. It was the initials with a circle in it. So that was sort of a tip-off that, you know, maybe there is something not quite right.” 

A photograph of the contract shared with 21 News also showed the date next to the initials was written in the DD/MM/YY format, which is uncommon in the United States compared to the MM/DD/YY format. 

According to Amy, the Carellys filed a police report with the Youngstown Police Department and have obtained a fraud “lock” on the property to prevent any more fraud attempts. She also said they are considering putting the land in a trust to make it more difficult for scammers to find their personal information. 

“My only wish is that professionals do due diligence,” she told 21 News. “Fraud is so rampant that you really have to double check to … make sure things are real.”