Last night I hosted a teleconference call with consumers and real estate industry insiders from across the country. The topic: How to avoid real estate and mortgage fraud, and what to do if you believe fraudsters and scammers have targeted you. The teleconference, attended by nearly 45 people, was the first in a series of free calls I will be hosting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time the first Tuesday of each month.

If you participated in last night’s call and would like to continue the dialogue here, please feel free to leave a comment below. If you would like to be added to our mailing list for future calls, please send an email message to my assistant, Kym Johnson, by writing to kymjohnson at ralphroberts dot com.

Thank you to everyone who participated in yesterday’s call, especially Debbie, Ed, Michael, and Jerome (your contributions were great).

Back at the beginning of May I wrote about how I was in Boulder, Colorado, working with STAR POWER® Systems on a new real estate and mortgage fraud education/awareness product for Realtors. Now, just three short months later, STAR POWER has released Detecting and Preventing Real Estate Fraud, a CD/workbook package complete with tips for helping anyone identify and recognize questionable real estate activity.

As almost everyone knows by now, real estate/mortgage fraud is one of the fastest-growing white-collar crimes in the United States, and illegal real estate deals are making life miserable for homeowners and prospective buyers nationwide.

Unfortunately, despite all the news coverage about real estate and mortgage fraud, real estate professionals are still being caught off-guard by the rules, regulations, and signs related to real estate and mortgage fraud in record numbers. If you’re a licensed REALTOR®, or if you are a serious real estate investor, you should consider purchasing Detecting and Preventing Real Estate Fraud today.

Armed with the expert know-how in this package, anyone should be able to recognize the warning signs and understand the importance of spotting, stopping, and reporting fraud as it occurs. Together with STAR POWER’s founder, Howard Brinton, I tell you about fraud’s impact on homeowners, the real estate industry, and local, state, and national economies. I also cover common and complicated schemes, including those involving asset rental, air loans, double sales, straw owners and buyers, credit scrubbing, nominees, fraudulent appraisals, and more.

Click here to order your copy of Detecting and Preventing Real Estate Fraud today.