Deputy Head of the Moscow Region Rosreestr: the loss of a passport can lead to the deprivation of housing rights 
If a citizen loses a passport or documents for an apartment, they can swindlers to deprive the owner of the rights to real estate. Vladimir Biryukov, Deputy Head of the Moscow Region Administration of Rosreestr, told about this to “Arguments and Facts” any actions with housing without the personal participation of the owner. In this case, fraudsters will not be able to steal an apartment by selling it by proxy – even if the owner loses his passport.
Fraudsters can also remotely apply for re-registration of property rights to housing using an electronic signature, Biryukov warned. In order not to become a victim of a scam, you need to check if the USRN has an up-to-date signature. In addition, in order to conduct transactions with an electronic signature, you must provide your consent to this in advance to Rosreestr. If it is not there, Rosreestr will not consider documents received in electronic form.
Lawyer Alexander Petrov, in turn, told the publication that fraudsters can deceive citizens who inattentively study documents when performing actions with housing. He advised to carefully read all the papers that need to be signed.
Vladimir Biryukov added that before buying an apartment, you need to order an extract from the USRN about the main characteristics and registered rights to the acquired object. It is necessary to check whether the apartment has other owners, whether the rights belong in whole or in part to minors. The expert also recommended ordering an extract on the transfer of rights to the property.
Earlier, in October, the Moscow police opened a fraud case against unknown persons who deprived the apartment of a 76-year-old professor at the Russian State Humanitarian University (RSUH) Igor Yakovenko. The scammers first convinced the scientist to transfer 150 thousand rubles to a third-party account, then tricked him into taking a loan for another 100 thousand and also transfer funds to an account. Subsequently, the swindlers persuaded Yakovenko to sell the apartment and the cottage, and transfer the proceeds to the false police officers.