OROVILLE, Calif. - The Butte County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday issued a warning about a rise in land impersonation scams targeting vacant landowners and buyers in Butte County.

These scams involve criminals pretending to be legitimate property owners to sell land they do not own.

According to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office, these "land pirate" scams have been documented over several months. Scammers contact real estate agents and potential buyers while impersonating legitimate owners of vacant or inherited land. They use fake identification, fraudulent notarizations, and temporary contact details to execute their schemes.

Legitimate landowners risk losing their parcels, while buyers could lose money to fraudulent sellers. Often, these scammers are overseas and

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