As lending restrictions tighten, make sure you aren’t being contacted about a great offer by a scammer impersonating a legitimate lender.

I guide investors on how to make money in the real estate business. I’ve traveled nationally presenting seminars to both beginners and experienced investors. As a licensed, HUD-approved mortgage lender/broker, private lender, contractor, and developer, I’ve personally been involved in countless successful real estate transactions.

While wearing all those hats during the last 40 years, I’ve always prided myself on my honesty and integrity. You can imagine my surprise and angst when an investor/borrower I was speaking with for the first time accused me of being a thief and threatened to sue me.

I soon discovered the reason behind the call. The investor was being preyed upon by a scammer impersonating me, using my good reputation and a spoofed version of my website as well as an alternate phone and email.

It was the first of many calls and emails I’ve received this year from investors who were irate, dumbfounded, or both. Some calls began, “Before I wire the money to you, I just want to go over the final details of the loan approval I received.” At least two had already wired funds and were angry that I’d ignored their calls to finalize the closing, and others threatened me with lawsuits.

Needless to say, they were all shocked at my response, “I’m sorry but I’ve never had any communication with you or your company.”

The investor would ask, “Aren’t you Lance Wells from Property Deals, the private lender?” Although I confirmed that, the ensuing conversation was to point out how our contact information differs from what they had been using with the imposter.

These impostors are quite skilled in the art of deception, and my company isn’t the only one that’s been targeted.

The culprits “hide” on websites that offer little other than lists of private lenders. When the investor inputs his contact information, the imposters pounce, using a legitimate private lender’s identity and a real officer’s name. On fake letterhead, they send out an approval letter with unbelievably good terms and request a wire transfer as proof of acceptance. (Our callers reported up to $8,500.)

Many investors are ready and willing to send this upfront money. Thankfully, most of them researched and called our company directly or called AAPL for a reference. Linda Hyde at AAPL deserves a huge thanks for recognizing potential victims and routing them to us, so the majority have been spared from swindle. For anyone who sent the wire, the money is forever lost.

We’ve reported this to federal, state, and local law enforcement, and we encourage the investors to also call. Unfortunately, we receive the same response from all the authorities: The thieves are organized, smart, and virtually untraceable because they use VPN’s in foreign countries and different banks and account names for each scam.

Private lenders have tightened requirements out of necessity, and that makes the unrealistic offers the scammers are making even more attractive. They prey on investors’ trust by impersonating reputable companies. The calls are less frequent now, but they haven’t stopped. Don’t be surprised if you get similar calls. Just be happy if you can spare the investor a loss!