How HFD Scan works — and what it does not do
Our screens look for documented characteristics commonly observed in real-estate scam attempts. They do not determine whether a specific message, party, or transaction is fraudulent. This page explains exactly what we screen for, where those patterns come from, and what is outside the screen's scope.
1What HFD Scan does and does not do
HFD Scan screens submitted information — a message, a phone number, wire instructions, or a property address — for documented characteristics commonly observed in real-estate scam attempts.
HFD Scan does not determine whether a specific message, sender, or transaction is fraudulent. The presence of one or more documented characteristics does not establish that a message is fraudulent. The absence of such characteristics does not establish that a message is genuine. Always verify independently with the named entity using contact information you obtain from a source other than the message itself.
2Where the patterns come from
Our pattern catalogs draw on public guidance from U.S. federal consumer-protection agencies, state Attorneys General, and recognized consumer-advocacy organizations. We update this list as the cited sources update theirs.
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
Wire-fraud, business-email-compromise, and real-estate scam patterns. Annual IC3 reports inform our category statistics.
- FBI IC3 — Annual Reports archive
Source for victim counts, loss totals, and category trends quoted across the site and Fraud Intelligence Brief. Most recent annual reports (e.g., 2025, 2024, 2023) are linked from the IC3 archive page.
- FBI — Common Frauds & Scams overview
Baseline language for impersonation, advance-fee, and elder-targeted patterns.
- FBI — Business Email Compromise (real-estate wire fraud)
Pattern catalog for wire-redirect scams: domain look-alikes, last-minute changes, urgency cues, out-of-band-channel pressure.
- FTC — Report Fraud
Reporting destination linked from every result. We never report on a user's behalf.
- FTC — Mortgage relief & foreclosure-rescue scam alerts
Equity-stripping and foreclosure-rescue pattern catalog used by property and senior-protection screens.
- FTC — Rental listing scam advisories
Rental cross-check pattern set: duplicate listings, owner-cannot-show excuses, off-platform payment requests.
- FTC — Identity theft topic hub
Identity-exposure framing for owner-records and contact-verification screens.
- CFPB — Reverse mortgages consumer guidance
Senior-targeted reverse-mortgage scam patterns surfaced by the property visibility report.
- CFPB — Consumer Complaint Database
Mortgage-servicer and settlement-service complaint patterns. Cited in Fraud Intelligence Brief.
- CISA — Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency
Phishing and impersonation indicators used by message and contact screens.
- USA.gov — State Attorneys General directory
State-level reporting destination linked from every result.
- HUD — Avoiding foreclosure scams
Foreclosure-rescue and loan-modification pattern set.
- AARP — Scams & Fraud resource center
Senior-targeted pattern set, especially for the elder-protection surface.
3What each screen looks for
Pattern categories are listed below — not the exact detection rules. Specific rule definitions are intentionally withheld so they cannot be used as a checklist by bad actors to evade screening.
HFD Scan (message review)
- Urgency and time-pressure cues ("act today," "final notice")
- Out-of-band channel pressure ("don't call the office, text me here")
- Sender / domain / display-name mismatch with the named entity
- Unusual payment instrument or routing requests
- Threats, consequences, or appeals to authority that bypass normal verification
- Look-alike branding of well-known title companies, lenders, or government agencies
- Requests for sensitive information (SSN, account numbers, deed details) outside an established channel
Wire verification
- Wire instructions delivered through email rather than verified out-of-band
- Last-minute changes to wire instructions before closing
- Recipient bank or routing number that doesn't match the title company of record
- Domain inconsistencies between the wire-instruction email and the title firm's known domain
Contact verification
- Phone number registered to known VOIP / disposable-number ranges
- Inconsistencies between caller's claimed entity and the entity's published contact details
- Recently created contact records with no historical footprint
Property visibility
- Public-records owner of record vs. submitted owner — match status
- Recent ownership changes or deed transfers
- Outstanding liens or encumbrances visible in county records
- Listing presence across multiple platforms with inconsistent price, status, or contact info
- Patterns associated with absentee-owner equity-stripping schemes
4AI vs. human review
HFD Scan results in this product are AI-generated. Each result is labeled as such on every result screen. Pattern matching is performed by a large language model against the documented pattern catalogs cited above. The AI does not reach a verdict — it lists which characteristics it observed.
A separate human-review path is available by emailing scan@homefrauddefense.org. Human review is performed by Home Fraud Defense™ staff and is also informational only — it does not constitute legal, financial, or investigative advice.
5What HFD Scan does not screen for
Setting the negative scope explicitly is part of our liability discipline. If you need any of the following, seek the appropriate licensed professional.
- We do not check criminal records of any sender, agent, broker, or party.
- We do not verify the identity of any individual.
- We do not perform a title search or replace one. A title search by a licensed title company remains essential.
- We do not provide legal, financial, or tax advice.
- We do not contact, notify, or report to the named entity, sender, or any third party on your behalf.
- We do not adjudicate disputes between parties to a transaction.
- We do not guarantee that any message, party, or transaction is fraudulent or genuine.
6How to verify independently
No matter what an HFD Scan reports, the single most protective step you can take is to contact the named entity using a phone number or email you obtain from a source other than the message itself — for example, the title company's published main line, your lender's number from your loan documents, or the county recorder's official website.
If you have already sent funds to a fraudulent account, time is critical. Contact your bank immediately to request a wire recall, then report the incident:
- FBI IC3 — File a complaint · the channel through which the FBI Recovery Asset Team process may be initiated; outcomes are not guaranteed
- FTC — Report Fraud
- Your state Attorney General
- CFPB — File a complaint (mortgage / lender issues)
Last reviewed: May 2026. We update this page as the cited sources update theirs. The methodology described here reflects HFD Scan as currently implemented; specific detection rules are revised on an ongoing basis.
See also: Disclaimer & Liability Notice · Terms of Service · AI Use Disclosure.