I met a guy online and we FaceTimed and used Skype to make sure that we both were the people in the pictures. He’s from Estonia but lives in Alabama. He had to go home because his mom passed away but he says he wants to move to my home town when he comes back. He asked me to go look at a $500,000 house for him and said that he wanted to buy it. He then asked me for my full name, email address, address, phone number (which he had already), and my bank account number. He said he wanted to wire the money to me once his house there sold and then have me hold on to the rest of the money until he got here. He’s never asked me for money and once I asked if he needed some but he said no, that he should give me money not me give him money. I’m confused. I like him but I won’t give out my information unless I truly know and trust someone. However, when I told him that I didn’t know if I felt comfortable enough to give him that information yet, he said he felt hurt that I would feel that way and then he blocked me from everything. He never tried to talk me into it again, just blocked me.
4 Answers
People do not ask strangers to buy houses for them.
Apart from all the other reasons, you are going to have to engage a lawyer or other professional to do the actual transaction, and that is something he could do by picking up a phone.
Also, seriously, what are the chances that a person you meet randomly online happens to want to move to your town that week?
It's a scam. Run away, or report to the police. If he really were in Alabama police could catch him, but of course he's not.
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I met a guy online
Scam
Does this really need elaboration?
The simple fact is: What he claims to need from you is something he can readily obtain from any Realtor, so there's no earthly reason for him to deal with you. Further, you are not a licensed real estate agent, and he wants you to step into the role of one. That should be warning enough, and in fact it is warning.
The personality test
He has limited time to scam people. He doesn't have time to work a long scam on everyone and hope a few are gullible at the end. He needs to exclude the streetwise people early, so he can focus his limited bandwidth on the truly gullible. So he does outrageous things early, specifically to warn you off. If you do not recognize the intentional warning signs he is giving you, then you're at his mercy!
So the "wanting your bank account" and "asking you to be an amateur Realtor" serve the dual purpose of moving the scam forward but also screening you for gullibility. You should sever contact now, and he won't be surprised.
Real Realtors
Even if this were legit (it really isn't!), the licensed real estate agents in your town are going to have a big problem with that. Keep in mind. Almost all sales, are through licensed Real Estate agents. The seller agrees to pay 6% sales commission, usually split 3%/3% with the seller's and buyer's licensed Realtors. This means your friend ought to be using a licensed Real Estate agent since her wage is already covered by the seller. It's a no-brainer for your friend to contact literally any licensed Realtor in your town, and there are many... prove his bona-fides and that Real Estate agent should cheerfully give him free services, since again, the fees are prepaid. (and Realtors are accustomed to deals failing and they just eat the commission loss when that happens).
And by the way, Real Estate agents don't handle money. That's handled by the escrow company, and that's not like hokey eBay "escrow" companies. The real escrow company isn't going to take any wooden nickels, and they won't pay any advance fees.
That's why he's trying to scam you :)
So on the off chance this deal is legit, tell him that real estate works differently in the US, and he needs to work through a licensed Realtor not you, and refer him to the first Realtor you find in the phone book. Easy peasy!
(Realtor is a "brand" of real estate agent, a club most of them belong to. It's possible to be a licensed real estate agent without being a Realtor.)
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This is a classic scam. Stay away. Look up the "Advance Fee Fraud" on Google.
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This has scam written all over it. Firstly, who buys a house through someone else. Then he suddenly has a reason to be overseas? Also, what a complete co-incidence that you met him online and he also wants to buy a house in your town - of all the towns in the world, of all the towns in the US - it just happens to be your town. There are just too much co-incidences for me.
It was the wire transfer that really pointed out to me it was a con. Never go for wire transfers, there are other ways. He should also be paying the real estate agents or banks directly. There is no need to use you as a middle man at all.
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