Buyers beware: (Sellers beware also)
Imagine saving for years to buy a home. After a long search, you find the perfect property, make an offer and it’s accepted. As closing day draws near, you receive an urgent email from someone who purports to be your closing agent/attorney containing pre-closing instructions. You open an attachment to see the address of the home, the name of your title insurance company, the exact dollar amounts due from you at closing and detailed wire instructions – all signed by the individual on company letterhead. Someone who claims to be their assistant even calls to make sure you received the message. So, you have your bank wire the funds due to the account listed in the wire instructions. When you show up at closing, however, you find you were duped out of your five-figure down payment and your closing on that dream home is cancelled.
Organizations such as the National Association of Realtors (NAR) are now reporting on wire fraud consistently. NAR’s online wire fraud resource site cites the FBI’s Internet Crime Center (IC3) data in saying that on average, 2,300+ complaints of wire fraud have occurred daily over the past five years.
How does real estate wire fraud happen?
Scammers use techniques like phishing and spoofing to convince you via email or phone that you’re communicating with a trusted agent or lender. The scammer then tells you that there’s been a change in closing procedures and that you must wire money to a new account. In actuality, the account belongs to the scammer.Aug 22, 2022
Best Practices for Preventing Real Estate Wire Fraud
Secure your devices and accounts. …
Be vigilant. …
Consider using cashier’s checks instead of wiring funds. …
Learn your title company’s process for wiring funds. …
Slow down. …
Be suspicious of any changes to wiring instructions, especially on Fridays or before holidays.
https://www.nar.realtor/wire-fraud
