Real Estate Safety in 2026: From Vacant Land Scams to Wire Fraud

Real estate safety used to bring to mind things like meeting strangers at vacant homes, working open houses alone, or walking an unfamiliar property after dark.

Those risks have not disappeared.

But in 2026, real estate safety also means verifying identities, protecting email accounts, questioning last-minute changes, and knowing exactly where your money is going before you send it.

Criminals have figured out something important about real estate transactions: a lot of money moves quickly between people who may never meet face-to-face.

And they are taking advantage of it.

According to FBI data cited by the National Association of REALTORS®, more than 12,000 real estate-related fraud complaints were reported in 2025, representing approximately $275 million in losses. Business email compromise (a broader category of fraud that frequently involves attempts to redirect legitimate payments) accounted for roughly $3 billion in reported losses nationwide.

Florida was not immune. In 2025, the FBI received 1,280 real estate fraud complaints from Florida victims, with reported losses totaling approximately $30.9 million.

For property owners, sellers, and buyers, the takeaway is pretty simple:

Real estate safety is no longer only about protecting the house. It is also about protecting your identity, your ownership, and your money.

One of the Fastest-Growing Concerns: Fake Property Owners

Imagine owning a vacant lot.

Maybe you bought it years ago. Maybe it is inherited property. Maybe you live somewhere else and rarely visit it.

Then someone pretending to be you contacts a real estate agent and tries to sell it.

That scenario has become serious enough that the FBI issued a public warning in June 2026 specifically addressing criminals impersonating owners of vacant property.

According to the FBI, criminals may obtain a property owner's information from public records, data brokers, compromised accounts, or other sources. They then create fraudulent identification, email addresses, and phone numbers. They can then contact real estate professionals and attempt to market the property without the owner's knowledge.

The scam can be surprisingly convincing because so much legitimate information about real estate is publicly available.

The real owner's name may be correct.

The parcel identification may be correct.

The mailing address may be correct.

The person contacting the agent is the part that is fake.

Vacant property can be particularly attractive to scammers because there may be no occupant present to notice a sign, showing activity, or other unusual behavior. NAR's 2025 Deed and Title Fraud Survey found that vacant land was the type of property most commonly associated with the deed and title fraud incidents known to survey respondents.

A Free Tool for Leon County Property Owners

Fortunately, Leon County property owners have a simple tool that can provide an additional layer of awareness.

The Leon County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller offers a free Property Fraud Alert service, which is also promoted through the Leon County Property Appraiser's Office.

Once registered, the system can send an email notification when a document matching the names recorded in Leon County's Official Records appears. According to the Clerk, notifications are typically sent within 24 hours of the document being recorded.

That can be particularly useful for people who own:

• Vacant land
• Rental property
• Inherited real estate
• Second homes
• Property they do not visit regularly
• Real estate owned through a business or other entity

There is one important distinction.

The service is an alert system. It does not prevent someone from attempting to record a fraudulent document.

The Leon County Clerk is generally required to record documents that meet statutory recording requirements and cannot simply reject a properly prepared document because it might later prove fraudulent. That makes early notification especially valuable.

Property owners can also search Leon County's existing Official Records to see which documents have already been recorded under their names.

For a free service that takes only a few minutes to set up, it is a pretty worthwhile layer of protection.

Then There Is Wire Fraud

Seller impersonation can threaten ownership.

Wire fraud goes directly after the money.

A typical real estate transaction involves multiple people and companies communicating electronically: real estate professionals, lenders, closing agents, attorneys, inspectors, insurance companies, and consumers.

That creates opportunities for criminals to impersonate someone involved in the transaction or gain access to a legitimate email account.

The fraudulent message may not look suspicious.

That is the problem.

It might arrive in the middle of an existing email conversation. The company logo may be correct. The signature might look familiar. The sender may know the property address, closing date, and names of the people involved.

Then comes the request:

"The wiring instructions have changed."

Or:

"Please use this account instead."

Once money is wired to a fraudulent account, recovering it can be extremely difficult.

The FBI recommends using a secondary communication method to verify any change in account information and carefully checking the complete email address of anyone requesting a transfer of funds.

In real estate, one of the safest habits is also one of the simplest:

Before sending money, call the closing or title company using an independently verified phone number to confirm the wiring instructions.

Not the phone number included in the email announcing the change.

Not the number in an unexpected text message.

Use independently verified contact information. Go to Google and look up the title company on your own. Verify that number to the one that may be included on the contract for the closing or title company.

Red Flags Worth Slowing Down For

Fraud does not always arrive looking like fraud.

Sometimes the warning sign is simply that something changed.

Pay particular attention when:

• Wiring instructions suddenly change
• Bank or routing information changes shortly before closing
• Someone insists the transaction must happen immediately
• An email address is slightly different from one you recognize
• A property owner refuses reasonable identity-verification efforts
• A remote seller seems unfamiliar with basic details about the property
• Sale proceeds are requested to be sent to someone other than the property owner
• The requested bank account or recipient has no obvious connection to the transaction
• Someone discourages you from independently verifying instructions

None of those things automatically means fraud is occurring.

They do mean it is worth asking another question.

A legitimate transaction can survive an extra phone call.

Physical Safety Still Matters Too

Cybercrime has expanded the definition of real estate safety, but the traditional risks of the profession remain.

Real estate professionals routinely meet people they have never met before, sometimes alone and sometimes inside vacant homes.

NAR reported in 2026 that 22% of residential real estate agents surveyed had experienced a situation that made them fear for either their personal safety or the security of their personal information.

That is why consumers may encounter additional safety procedures when meeting an agent for the first time.

An agent may ask for identification.

A brokerage may request basic prospect verification.

An agent may prefer an initial meeting at an office or public location.

Someone may know where the agent is showing property and when the appointment is scheduled.

Open houses may include sign-in procedures or more than one person working the event.

Those steps are not intended to make the process cumbersome. Applied consistently, they are basic precautions for professionals whose job regularly involves meeting unfamiliar people in unfamiliar places.

What Tallahassee Property Owners and Sellers Can Do

If you own property in Leon County, especially vacant land or property you do not regularly visit, there are a few simple precautions worth considering.

Sign up for Leon County's free Property Fraud Alert.

Periodically search the Official Records for documents recorded under your name.

Make sure the Leon County Property Appraiser and Tax Collector have your correct mailing information.

Check vacant property periodically or ask someone you trust to keep an eye on it.

If you decide to sell, expect legitimate real estate and closing professionals to verify your identity.

And if someone involved in the transaction wants to double-check information, that is usually a good thing.

What Tallahassee Buyers Should Do Before Sending Money

The biggest rule may be the easiest one to remember:

Never allow an unexpected email to be the only reason you change where you are sending money.

Before wiring earnest money, closing funds, or another substantial payment, confirm the recipient and instructions independently.

If instructions change, stop.

Call.

Verify.

Then proceed.

It may add five minutes to the transaction.

Those five minutes can protect a wire representing years of savings.

What If You Think Something Has Gone Wrong?

Speed matters.

If you believe money was sent using fraudulent wire instructions, the FBI recommends immediately contacting the financial institution that originated the transfer and requesting a recall or reversal. The incident should also be reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.

For suspected property or deed fraud in Leon County, the Clerk recommends contacting local law enforcement and/or an attorney or legal advisor. The Clerk's office, Property Appraiser and Tax Collector cannot independently reverse fraudulent activity.

Keep copies of emails, text messages, transaction information, and other records that may be relevant.

The Best Safety Tool Might Be Permission to Stop

Real estate transactions come with deadlines.

Inspection periods expire. Loan commitments are due. Movers are scheduled. Sellers are packing. Buyers are planning. Everyone wants closing day to arrive.

That creates pressure to keep things moving.

Fraudsters understand that pressure too.

Sometimes the safest thing anyone involved in a real estate transaction can do is stop for a few minutes.

Verify the person.

Verify the email.

Verify the account.

Make the phone call.

Ask the uncomfortable question.

Technology can help identify fraud, but technology is not a replacement for judgment.

Whether you own a vacant Tallahassee lot, are preparing to sell a home, or are getting ready to wire funds for a purchase, an extra verification step is a lot easier than trying to unwind fraud after the fact.

Real estate safety in 2026 is physical, digital, and financial.

And sometimes being a little harder to fool is the most useful technology of all.

This article is provided for general educational purposes and is not legal, financial or cybersecurity advice.