House Sale Scam

Perth man's house sold by scammers

Roger Mildenhall was living overseas. He found out last week that his property in Karrinyup which was worth almost $500,000, had been sold in June. Immediately he returned to Perth to find a second property he owned was also about to be sold.

The scammers had organized the sale in June 2010 through email and telephone, producing duplicates of the manners to his house.

Detective Senior Sergeant Don Heise from the Major Fraud Squad said: police are investigating whether the scammer is recognized to Mr Mildenhall.

He also stated: “We have a number of previous complaints where family members have taken property off another family member”, but if this is a true scam then it is the first of its kind.

Mr Mildenhall says he was stunned when he heard about the news. He said his neighbour told him about the sale last week and he right away returned to Perth to stop the sale of the second property. He has hired a lawyer in an attempt to get his property back and police are also investigating the scam.
Consumer Protection Commissioner Anne Driscoll said: It is not yet known how the scammers succeeded.

The details of the scam need to be fully investigated by detective to understand exactly what happened and how this trick was so effective. Real Estate Institute West Australian spokeswoman Anne Arnold said yesterday that agents need to be vigilant. She finally says changes may have to be made to prevent future scams.