Common Scams Targeting HOAs — and How to Avoid Them
HOA payments and vendor contracts make associations an attractive target for fraud. None of this is legal advice or a guarantee against being scammed — it's the same general caution the FTC and FBI give any small organization handling recurring payments.
A call, email, or letter tells your HOA (or you) to start sending dues or vendor payments to a "new" bank account. It's fake, and once money is wired, it's almost always gone for good.
Protect yourself: Never change where you send money based on an email or letter alone. Call the recipient at a phone number you already have on file — never one provided in the message itself — and confirm the change out loud before sending anything.
Scammers posing as your association demand immediate payment — often by gift card, wire, or cryptocurrency — and threaten liens, fines, or foreclosure if you don't pay right away.
Protect yourself: A real HOA does not demand gift cards or crypto, and does not rely on high-pressure countdowns. Verify any surprise fee directly with your management company using contact info from your own records, never the number or link in the demand.
A message impersonating your HOA or management company links to a fake portal asking for your login, card number, or bank details.
Protect yourself: Don't click links in unexpected messages. Go directly to your management company's known website or app instead, and type the address in yourself.
A fake invoice — sometimes copying a real vendor's actual letterhead — asks your board or bookkeeper to send payment to "updated" bank details.
Protect yourself: Confirm any vendor payment-detail change by phone with the vendor before honoring it, using a number you already have — not the one on the new invoice.
