April 27, 2026
Beware of Scammers Using the Names and Information to Impersonate California Real Estate Agents
Sacramento, Calif. - The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) has been made aware of scammers impersonating real estate salespersons and brokers through the use of their information and photos to create fake social media accounts, including TikTok, and craigslist listings, to illegally engage in real estate licensed activities such as home buying and property management. DRE advises consumers and licensees to be aware of scams that involve the misuse of the names of legitimate licensees and what steps should be taken to protect themselves against such scams.
What the Scam Looks Like
These bad actors appear to be using the names, license numbers, photos, and information of actual real estate agents in an attempt to “legitimize” and complete various types of real estate scams. With virtually no investment of money, scammers can create a domain name, website, email address, social media account, and other information to make themselves appear to be whomever they want to be online. The same is true with regard to purported “business” addresses, which in many cases turn out to be just a post office box, a fake address, or the address of someone else. And it is quite easy for an identity thief to access information (such as a name and license number) with respect to reputable licensees and then pose as those licensees.
If you suspect this type of scam or are victim to this predatory behavior, you can immediately report the fraud and file complaints with any or all of the following:
The relevant Internet domain name provider, and the Internet Crime Complaint Center at: www.IC3.gov
- DRE, at: http://www.dre.ca.gov/Consumers/FileComplaint.html
- The California Attorney General, at: http://oag.ca.gov/consumers
- The District Attorney, Sheriff, local police and local prosecutor in your community. More information about law enforcement agencies is available at: https://oag.ca.gov/government/about
- The Federal Trade Commission, at: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), at: http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
Also, real estate licensees who learn that their identities are being or have been used by some third party or parties should: (i) send cease and desist letters to that person(s) demanding that he or she refrain from posing as the licensee, and (ii) check their (the licensee’s) credit reports and financial accounts to see if the scammers have used the identities for money or credit theft or other purposes.
Further, licensees should do periodic online searches of their own names, license numbers, and other information to see if anyone is using their identity or if anything negative is being said about them because of what some scammer(s) has done.
Advice for Consumers on Ways to Verify the Legitimacy of Real Estate Agents
Because scammers have posed and continue to pose as legitimate licensees, it is necessary that consumers of real estate services verify
that they are dealing with legitimate and licensed California agents.
In order to do this, consumers should get the name of the person calling, emailing, making a solicitation or offering real estate licensed
services (e.g., the real estate broker or salesperson they purport to be), look that person up on the DRE website (at www.dre.ca.gov), locate
a phone number for the licensee through the telephone company or a genuine phone directory, call the licensee at that number and verify that
the person who contacted the consumer(s) actually works at the number called and works for the office identified on the DRE website, and then
speak with the identified licensee to confirm that he or she actually made the contact and/or offered the services.
Many licensees have photographs of themselves on their websites. Consumers can check to verify that the photograph, telephone number, and other
information all match the information that was received in the initial contact.
Importantly, consumers need to know that requests for advance fees (fees or money before services are performed), payments in cash, and "wire
transfers" of monies are all warning signs of fraud.
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The Department of Real Estate is the regulatory agency that enforces the Real Estate Law, Subdivided Lands Law, and Vacation Ownership and Timeshare Act. DRE oversees the licensure of approximately 434,000 licensees. The Department's mission is to safeguard and promote the public interests in real estate matters through licensure, regulation, education, and enforcement. Consumer protection is its highest priority. For more information, visit: www.dre.ca.gov.
