Calgary Real Estate Fraud: Warning Signs and Next Steps

Pause the payment, signing, account change, access request, listing, mortgage submission, or document release that raised concern. Do not click more links, continue the same message thread, confront a suspected impersonator, or delete suspicious messages. If anyone faces immediate physical danger, use the appropriate emergency channel.

A pause is not an accusation. It creates time to verify through independent routes and may protect contractual options. Ask a lawyer about live transaction deadlines rather than assuming fraud concern automatically extends them.

Contact the bank, lawyer, brokerage, mortgage brokerage, property manager, landlord, seller, buyer, or other participant using a number or portal obtained independently from an earlier verified record, official registry, card, statement, or in-person meeting. Do not use contact details contained only in the suspicious request.

Verify the person, organization, transaction, requested action, account or payee details, amount, deadline, and reason for any change. Establish a spoken challenge phrase or two-person confirmation process before funds are due.

Check the identity and role of every person requesting access, documents, signatures, money, mortgage information, keys, or changes. Use RECA ProCheck for Alberta licensees and the organization's independently located main contact for staff confirmation. A familiar display name, email signature, logo, caller ID, or copied listing is not proof.

For owners, attorneys, estates, corporations, landlords, and representatives, have the appropriate professional confirm authority and supporting records. Do not rely on a photo of identification sent in an unverified thread.

Compare the civic address, legal description, title information, owner or authorized representative, listing source, brokerage, property access, photographs, rent or price, deposit instructions, and agreement. Be cautious with pressure, remote-only access, copied photos, below-market rent, unavailable owners, unusual deposits, or requests to move conversations off a trusted platform.

Tenants and buyers should confirm that the person offering the property has authority. Owners should monitor unauthorized advertising, access requests, and title or mortgage concerns through the relevant professional and official systems.

Before any deposit, wire, down payment, payout, rent, or closing transfer, record the verified recipient, financial institution, account or trust route, amount, due date, authorized approver, and callback method. Treat any new account, urgency, secrecy, split payment, cryptocurrency, gift card, or changed instructions as a mandatory stop-and-verify event.

Confirm instructions verbally through a trusted route and have a second person compare the details where possible. Do not post banking details or payment evidence in a general website form.

Review every statement about identity, employment, income, debts, down payment, gifts, occupancy, intended use, rent, property, purchase price, and other parties. Never sign a blank or inaccurate application, lend identity to another buyer, hide a side agreement, or accept an unexplained payment for using your name or credit.

Ask the licensed mortgage professional and lawyer about anything you do not understand. Keep the final submitted version and supporting-document list so unauthorized changes can be identified.

Use clear filenames, dates, version numbers, authorized recipients, and a final signed-document check. Confirm amendments, initials, deposit terms, conditions, possession, inclusions, seller and buyer names, brokerage, lawyer, and signing platform through known contacts. Do not sign through an unexpected link before verifying the sender and document.

After signing, obtain the complete executed copy from the trusted transaction channel. If a version differs, preserve both and ask the lawyer or responsible professional how to proceed.

Use unique passwords, multi-factor authentication, current software, device locks, and secure networks for email, banking, cloud storage, transaction portals, and identity records. Review forwarding rules, recovery contacts, active sessions, recent logins, and unauthorized account changes if compromise is suspected.

Contact providers through official routes. Change exposed credentials from a trusted device and do not reuse them. Preserve relevant notices and timestamps before changing settings where doing so will not worsen the risk.

Save original emails with headers where possible, messages, phone numbers, voicemail, URLs, advertisements, profiles, documents, envelopes, transaction references, payment records, screenshots, device alerts, login notices, and a chronology of actions. Record what was observed, by whom, and when without editing originals.

Store evidence securely and share it only with authorized responders. Do not publish suspected identities or private records online. A concise chronology helps banks, lawyers, police, regulators, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre understand the incident.

Route the incident according to exposure: the financial institution for funds or accounts, lawyer for contract and title issues, relevant organization and regulator for impersonation or licensed conduct, police for suspected crime, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre for national reporting and guidance. Ask credit bureaus or other qualified services about identity protections where appropriate.

Be cautious when anyone guarantees recovery, asks for an upfront fee, claims special access to frozen funds, or knows details of the original loss. Verify recovery services independently and obtain legal advice before paying or granting account access.

Sources are starting points, not property-specific legal, tax, lending, insurance, valuation, safety, or transaction advice. Recheck publication dates, scope, and the facts that control your decision.