top of page

CatFish Buyers Targeting Realtors

Updated: Feb 12


Image above courtesy "Catfish"


There are a number of people running scams, fraud, phishing, viruses, malware, etc. targeting real estate agents (many of whom are Realtors in the US) these days. If you look online, you'll find many examples (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) of agents who have wasted time or been scammed who were catfished by people posing as buyers. The majority of times, these buyers don't do anything in person and never show their face, while the minority of times, they might actually go to properties with people. In this article I wanted to focus on those that never show their face since they are so much more common than those that do.


In this post, I wanted to share more about how I was in the original movie "Catfish", fake buyers targeting real estate agents including but not limited to how to spot them, how to respond to the issue, & if I'm sending you this post after you've reached out to me about buying, why I am doing so. In order to help you skip around, I'm using 3 sections that you can expand or contract to skip to the next section.


I. What is a Catfish & My appearance in the movie "Catfish"

II. How to Spot Catfish Buyers & How to Respond to the Signs of It

1. They won't want to show their face to you on live video or do anything in person, & are often reluctant to audio

2. High Price Range

3. Reaching out to you by "accident" or mentioning a vague prior connection

4. They reach out to you over social media, email, or via text rather than a call.

5. They send you a link or attachment

6. They often want to shift away from typical methods of written communication.

7. Opposite gender using attractive images