Female REALTORS® have received threatening or explicit messages from a suspicious man.
The Board is alerting members about a man who has been harassing REALTORS®. We have been advised that female members of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported they received lewd and threatening calls.
The suspicious man initially reaches out to female members posing as a potential client before the conversation escalates. He then states he has stalked them on social media, and then proceeds to make threatening and inappropriate comments.
REALTORS® who have experienced this harassment say that the caller uses a spoofed phone number. This means the same person appears to be calling from a range of different phone numbers.
If your harasser is making threats, or if you believe you’re in immediate danger, call 911.
If you hear from someone who may be the same individual, you can support police efforts in these ways:
- Collect as much information as you possibly can (e. g. any identifying or geographical information, what was said, time, date, etc.).
- File a report with the police and share information you are comfortable sharing to aid their efforts.
- Send police file numbers and any other relevant information to FVREB by emailing communications@fvreb.bc.ca.
Safety reminders for all REALTORS®:
- Keep your personal information private, especially on social media. For example, use a “page” on Facebook for your business, keeping your personal profile private.
- Let calls from unfamiliar phone numbers go to voicemail and do not open videos in emails from unknown senders. Doing this may act as a deterrent to the sender.
- Be suspicious of unsolicited links, emails, and texts. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- Keep your safety in mind and take extra precautions by pre-screening anyone you choose to do business with.
- Trust your instincts — if you sense someone is up to no good, or you feel uncomfortable, cancel any in-person appointment. Don’t meet with the individual and stop communicating with them.
- Notify someone in your office or a friend that you’ll call them every hour on the hour when conducting a showing. If you don’t call as expected, advise them to notify the police.
More information:
- Review the REALTOR® Safety Guidelines posted on FVREB Connect.
- For more safety tips related to showing properties, review a past NewsReal article.