Identifying property fraud

The five frauds we see most

• Selling land the seller does not own. Often an old power of attorney, or a relative acting without the actual owner. Always match the name on the sale deed to a government photo ID.
• Selling the same plot twice. A clean-looking deed, but the property was already sold to someone else. A 15-year encumbrance certificate is what catches this.
• Hidden litigation. A family dispute or partition suit already before a court. The seller is not lying about ownership — they are not mentioning the case.
• Unapproved layouts. Plots sold in a layout that BDA never sanctioned. You get the land and no permission to build on it.
• Token-advance disappearance.A pushy request for a token payment to “block” the property, then no contact. If someone wants money before you have seen a document, stop.

Documents to insist on

• Sale deed — registered, in the current seller's name.
• RoR / Patta — the Record of Rights showing khata and plot number.
• Mutation certificate — proof the record was actually transferred to them.
• Encumbrance certificate — 15 years, from the Sub-Registrar office.
• Approved building plan — for any built property.
• Latest tax receipt — confirms who has been paying, and that dues are clear.

Ask for these before you discuss price seriously. A genuine seller expects the question. A seller who is offended by it is telling you something.

Warning signs

• Pressure to decide today, or a “another buyer is coming this evening” story.
• A price meaningfully below every comparable property in the same locality.
• Only photocopies, never originals, and reasons why originals cannot be seen.
• A request for cash, or for payment to an account in a name other than the seller's.
• Reluctance to let you visit the site, or to meet at the property itself.
• The person selling is not the person named in the documents, without a registered power of attorney.

What Bhubaneswar Properties does about this

Every listing on this site is checked before it goes public: a field agent visits and photographs the site, the ownership documents are collected and reviewed, and the seller's identity is verified. Buyer and seller never exchange phone numbers, which removes the off-platform pressure most of these frauds depend on.

That said, our verification is not a legal guarantee of title. For a binding opinion, use our title verification and litigation check services, or engage your own advocate. We would rather you check twice.

If something looks wrong

Every listing page has a “Report this listing” link. It goes straight to our admin complaint queue, not to the seller. You can also write to report@bhubaneswarproperties.com. If you believe you have been defrauded, file a complaint at your local police station and with the Sub-Registrar office where the property is recorded.