The family group chat exploded while I was reviewing satellite images for a coastal restoration project.

My older brother, Julian, proudly announced that he had just bought my beachfront home at a foreclosure auction for only $400,000.

My father immediately replied that he had wired Julian $200,000 to help complete the purchase.

My mother congratulated them both on what she called “a brilliant family investment.”

I stared at the messages in disbelief.

Three weeks earlier, I had paid off the final $1.2 million on that mortgage.

The balance on my banking app still read exactly what it should.

$0.00.

The house was worth nearly $2.8 million, and no foreclosure had ever existed.

Before I could type a response, my phone rang.

A senior executive from my bank spoke before I could say hello.

“Someone is standing at the county courthouse right now,” he said, “trying to buy your house using forged foreclosure documents.”

My blood ran cold.