You invested all that time and energy in helping a couple find a house to buy — only to learn that their loan application was rejected because they had bad credit, which they had no idea of because they had a preapproval; but since then, their identity was stolen. There goes your commission.

The doorbell rang. The female homeowner of the townhouse condo opened the door, leaving her screen door closed and locked.

As a real estate agent, it has probably occurred to you that a predator could be driving down the street of your next open house. And at the spur of the moment, the predator could decide to pose as a potential buyer to “screen” you to see if you’re prey material.

As a real estate agent, your livelihood is in your laptop. How well do you protect it when you’re out and about or traveling on business or vacation? If you must pretend your laptop is a live baby in order to keep it guarded, then so be it.

After finding their dream home, a young couple along with their agent, the seller and probably an attorney or two, begin the process of signing and transferring legal documents. Some of this is done in person and some over the web, which is what leads to closing scams.

As a real estate agent, it has probably occurred to you that a predator could be a problem. He or she could be driving down the street of your open house and at the spur of the moment decide to pose as a potential buyer and screen you as potential prey material.

The doorbell rang. The homeowner, a woman, opened it. There stood a man and woman. The man said he was there to look at the house, which made sense because it was for sale. But their real estate agent had not yet shown up.

Being with strangers alone in a house is an inherently risky situation for anyone, and that of course includes people who do this for a living: real estate agents. This is especially true if the property is vacant, under construction or newly constructed — in an area where nobody lives yet, where nobody congregates, where nobody is around to notice anything suspicious.