Are "We Buy Your Land" Letters a Scam? How to Tell

Why you're getting these letters in the first place

I'll say this plainly, because our own letters look a lot like the ones I'm about to warn you about: your property ownership record is public information. County assessor and recorder databases list your name, mailing address, parcel number, acreage, and how long you've owned the land — and anyone, including investors, can pull that data for free or buy it in bulk. Companies filter these records for vacant, rural, or "absentee-owned" parcels, meaning owners whose mailing address differs from the property's, because those owners are statistically the most likely to sell.

Thousands of these letters go out every week, and a single mailing can blanket an entire county. Receiving one doesn't mean you were targeted personally — it means your parcel matched a filter. That fact alone should take some of the unease out of it. It's marketing, not surveillance.

Who's actually behind the letters: a spectrum, not a verdict

Most letters come from real estate investors, and honesty matters here: the great majority are not criminal scams. They fall on a spectrum. On the good end are established direct cash buyers — companies that actually purchase land with their own funds, take title, and close through a title company or attorney. In the middle are wholesalers, who sign you to a contract they intend to resell to someone else rather than buy themselves. On the bad end is outright fraud, including title theft and seller-impersonation schemes. The letter itself tells you very little. Your job is figuring out where on that spectrum a given sender falls.

Legitimate buyers vs. wholesalers who may never close

A legitimate direct buyer has the capital to close and puts real money at risk. A wholesaler, by contrast, signs a purchase contract with an assignment clause, then tries to sell — assign — that contract to a third party for a markup, often without funding the deal themselves. The problem: if they can't find an end-buyer, many simply cancel, because they were never truly "ready, willing, and able" to purchase in the first place.

Two practical warning signs: a long closing window — legitimate land deals typically close in about 30 to 60 days, and a request for 90-plus days can signal wholesaling — and a fully refundable, token earnest-money deposit that costs the buyer nothing to walk away from. Wholesaling can be done ethically and disclosed up front. Undisclosed, it can leave your land tied up for months, and can even cloud your title if the wholesaler records a "memorandum of contract" against it.

Red flags: warning signs of a bad deal or a scam

• High pressure. Urgency to sign "today," or a buyer who won't give you time to think it over or get a second opinion.
• A company you can't verify. No website, no physical address, a name that doesn't match the person contacting you, or contact only by text, email, or an internet phone number.
• Any request for money from you — "processing fees," a deposit, anything at all. A real buyer never asks the seller to pay up front.
• Refusing to close at a title company or attorney's office, or asking you to sign a power of attorney.
• Offers wildly below market — or suspiciously above it — to hook you before the terms change.
• A buyer who reverses or "renegotiates" the earnest money after you've already committed.

Green flags: what a legitimate, fair buyer looks like

A trustworthy buyer is easy to check, and comfortable being checked. Look for a verifiable company — a registered business, a real address, a working phone number, reviews you can actually read — and licensed professionals involved in the transaction. A fair buyer is willing to close through a reputable title company or real estate attorney, with a real title search and owner's title insurance, and puts a clear written offer in front of you with plain terms.

A legitimate buyer charges you no upfront fees and no commissions, answers your questions patiently, and gives you time to research your land's value and get other offers rather than rushing you toward a signature. Local or regional knowledge of your specific area, and zero objection to you calling the title company yourself to confirm the deal, are strong positive signs.

How to verify a buyer in about fifteen minutes

You can vet almost any buyer for free, and it's worth doing before you sign anything:

• Search your Secretary of State's business database — free in every state — to confirm the company is registered and shows "Active" or "Good Standing," not "Dissolved" or "Revoked."
• Check BBB.org for a rating and any complaints, and search the company or person's name alongside words like "complaint," "review," or "scam."
• Confirm a real physical address and consistent contact information, and make sure the name on the letter matches the name on the offer and the closing documents.
• Ask which title company or attorney will handle closing, then call that office directly to confirm they're real and the transaction is actually scheduled.

The fast-rising scam that actually threatens landowners today

This one is different from everything above, and it usually targets your identity, not a letter you received. In seller-impersonation fraud, criminals use your publicly available information to pose as you, then list and "sell" your vacant land to an unsuspecting buyer, pocketing the proceeds — often without you ever knowing until it's done. This has grown sharply in recent years according to FBI reporting, and vacant land is disproportionately targeted precisely because there's no one living there to notice something is wrong.

Federal investigators have described a consistent pattern: fraudsters fabricate IDs, contact agents and title companies by email, text, or an internet phone number while impersonating the owner, sometimes file forged deeds, and request the sale proceeds be wired to an out-of-state "attorney" who is really part of the scheme. This isn't a hypothetical — federal prosecutors have brought real, multi-million-dollar cases built on exactly this pattern.

How to protect your land from title theft

A few free or low-cost steps genuinely help. Many county Recorder or Clerk offices offer free "property fraud alert" services that email you if any document is recorded against your parcel — sign up if your county has one. Consider an owner's title insurance policy that includes forgery protection, and keep your deed and tax records organized and secure. If your land is vacant, out of state, or inherited and rarely visited, it's worth periodically checking its recorded status online. If anyone ever claims to be selling land you own, or a title company contacts you about a sale you didn't initiate, treat it as an emergency and contact your county and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center immediately.

If you do want to sell: get the real value, and get more than one offer

Before responding to any offer, learn what your land is actually worth (we've written a full guide on exactly how to do that). Value is driven mainly by location, legal access, zoning, and utilities — an appraisal can help, but isn't always necessary. Then get more than one offer and compare not just price, but terms, closing costs, and who's paying the fees. A fair, legitimate buyer welcomes this scrutiny. Being asked to compete or prove themselves is normal for us — any buyer who resents your due diligence is telling you something important about themselves.

How and where to report a scam

If you spot a scam or lose money, reporting it genuinely helps investigators and protects the next landowner. File with the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov — those reports are shared with thousands of law enforcement agencies. For impersonation, title fraud, or wire fraud specifically, file with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov. Contact your state Attorney General's consumer protection office, and if it involves your deed or a recorded document, notify your county Recorder or Clerk directly. If a wire transfer is involved, act fast — reporting within the first 24 to 72 hours gives banks the best real chance of recalling it.