Data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) point to boom times for real estate fraud. In 2022, real estate fraud cost victims $396.9 million, a 13.30% rise from 2021 and an 86.18% rise from 2020. More than $132 million more was lost to real estate fraud in 2022 than to check and credit card fraud, which get the majority of the headlines.
As the FBI notes, these crimes can be devastating for individuals, who could lose their life savings or the opportunity to use money from a home sale to
