This edition of the Legislative Lens podcast features Dominic Kardum, Senior Deputy District Attorney with the Ventura County DA's Real Estate Fraud Unit, and Jorge DeLeon, Chairman of the Real Estate Fraud Advisory Team (REFAT), as they delve into real estate fraud and how consumers can protect themselves. The episode traces REFAT's inception in the early 2000s from the need to address prevalent loan modification scams, establishing its mission to prevent, detect, and report real estate fraud in collaboration with the Ventura County DA's specialized fraud unit, one of the first of its kind in California. The discussion highlights current fraud trends, including a significant uptick in wire fraud where criminals access transactions online to steal funds, and prevalent rental scams involving too-good-to-be-true offers and demands for upfront cash app payments without property viewing. The two also share practical ways consumers can educate and protect themselves.

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