BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2023 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A call center using the Boca Raton-area phone number of 561-666-1474 is claiming to be calling on behalf of Real Estate Firm Coldwell Banker and apparently engaged in a scam — or a questionable advertising practice — to link you with a real estate agent.
BocaNewsNow.com received the call mid-day Wednesday. Incredibly, the caller — using broken English and with line noise that made the call overseas — read from a script. Among the lines, “I’m calling from Coldwell Banker, which is a real estate agency.” Coldwell Banker has rather good name recognition. The identification of the company as a real estate agency was a “tell” that the call is a scam.
The caller, who wanted to connect us to an agent, stated the appraisal of the property in question had been completed and that an agent wanted to share it. When we asked a question, however, the caller seemed to get nervous, and would not identify which agent she was specifically calling on behalf of.
Never, ever, ever, ever, accept a cold call from a real estate agent. Real estate agents who make cold calls are violating FTC rules that prohibit spam calls and texts, and are obviously not good enough to generate their own business through legitimate means. If you receive a call and a request is made for money, get as much information as you can — then call the police. We note the phone number will inevitably change once this article is seen by the apparent scammers.
