Housing scam warning - NHT, realtors association put prospective homeowners on notice amid rise in fraudulent social media accounts

With fraudulent social media accounts increasingly advertising homes and even purporting to offer National Housing Trust (NHT) houses for sale, members of the public are being urged to verify agents and property listings before parting with money or personal information.

The warning comes from the Realtors Association of Jamaica (RAJ), following an alert from the NHT that several unauthorised accounts have been using its name and branding to promote housing solutions online.

The NHT said it has identified multiple fake social media pages falsely claiming to represent the organisation and advertising houses for sale. It stressed that its housing solutions are not sold through social media platforms.

“We have become aware of several unauthorised accounts using our name and branding to promote housing solutions,” the NHT said in a statement.

The agency emphasised that housing allocation follows strict procedures.

“The allocation of NHT housing developments is governed by established policies and procedures,” it said, adding that eligible contributors must apply through its official application process.

The NHT warned that the public should not engage with or share personal information with suspicious accounts.

“We are urging members of the public to verify the authenticity of any social media page, message or advertisement purporting to represent the organisation before sharing personal information or engaging with such content,” the statement read.

It also encouraged Jamaicans to report suspicious pages.

“Anyone who encounters social media accounts or advertisements claiming to offer NHT houses for sale should report them immediately,” it said, noting that it was actively monitoring the situation and working to address the unauthorised use of its name and branding.

RAJ President Gabrielle Gilpin-Hudson said the rise in fake property listings highlights the need for greater vigilance among home seekers.

“Be sure to check if the person who is publishing that ad is actually a licensed and registered real estate professional,” she said, pointing to the Real Estate Board of Jamaica’s register of licensed practitioners.

She said consumers should not rely on social media alone when assessing property advertisements.

“NHT generally advertises through their trusted channels, so NHT would advertise on their own website, their own social media pages,” she said. “If it’s not coming from the source, chances are you shouldn’t trust it.”

Gilpin-Hudson warned that scammers are becoming more sophisticated in their tactics.

“Another tactic that we’ve been seeing them do is to imitate and replicate real practitioners and basically steal some of their pictures and just pretend and duplicate their pages and change the contact information so that you call them instead,” she said.

She added that licensed real estate professionals have legal obligations when handling listings.

“We are licensed under the Real Estate Dealers and Developers Act, and we actually have obligations to check and verify the ownership of any properties that we are accepting as listings,” she said. “We have to make sure that the person is allowed to sell the property, the property can be sold, and that the advertisement is accurate and does not misrepresent what is for sale.”

The RAJ has reported an increase in complaints about fraudulent property advertisements circulating online.

“It is something that the RAJ, the Realtors Association of Jamaica, has been lobbying and trying to raise awareness of alongside the Real Estate Board and the Jamaica Constabulary Force,” she said, noting that fraudulent real estate advertising is a criminal offence.

Gilpin-Hudson urged caution when engaging in online transactions.

“If something is appearing too good to be true, it’s probably not real,” she said. “Be very careful about giving your personal information or money to anybody without verifying that they’re a real agent first.”

The RAJ is encouraging members of the public to report suspicious advertisements as efforts continue to curb the spread of fraudulent property listings online.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com