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Maryland man's property in Great Cacapon was nearly sold through an attempted real estate fraud after a listing agent noticed something amiss on the online MLS service. Marlin Strand, who has owned his place on Rouse Mountain since 1983, was alerted by Rick Kucharski, a local real estate agent, that someone had listed his property for sale using falsified ID documents.

    Strand said he had no knowledge of the listing and quickly investigated to find out what was happening. The listing and communication were handled through text messages, with the individuals behind the fraud claiming to represent Strand in the transaction. When Kucharski contacted Strand, they went to the listing agent, who became aware that the listing was fraudulent.

    The Morgan County Sheriff's Department got involved, with Chief Johnnie Walter saying this is not an isolated incident and real estate fraud is a nationwide problem. In one recent case, the owner of a property received legal documents from Trump & Trump in the mail, alerting him to the fraudulent sale of his land.

    Strand warned others to beware of this kind of fraud, which can happen without any parties meeting in person. Walter echoed this warning, saying in-person transactions are the best protection against real estate fraud. Investigations have also pointed to foreign internet IP addresses as the source of fraudulent property communications, making it difficult to recover stolen funds once they leave the jurisdiction.