On top of the everyday risks agents face in a normal year, real estate professionals in 2020 also had to deal with the challenges of navigating a pandemic, including safely providing home tours and working remotely. Add to that, a rise in online scams, a gaping political divide that resulted in harassment on social media and a deluge of open house attacks, and it became clear that the real estate industry had its hands full this year. Below, some of the biggest crime, corruption and agent safety stories in 2020. Attacked agent receives outpouring of support GoFundMe In June, Virginia real estate agent Lenora Farrington of Keller Williams Realty was hosting an open house when a man walked in and, after posing as a homebuyer, cornered her in one of the rooms and hit her in the head with a crescent wrench.