Superhero holding shield that says call before you wire

Wire Fraud Warning

READ THIS BEFORE SENDING MONEY

Criminals are trying to steal your money by pretending to be us – or pretending to be your Real Estate Agent. Criminals may send you an e-mail that looks like it is from us or from the agent – Criminals may even call you pretending to be us or your agent. Before sending us any funds – CALL US!!! Call us at a number you know is accurate to verify the wire instructions (If you don’t have a valid number already you can find our office contact information here). DO NOT USE THE PHONE NUMBER IN AN E-MAIL. We are not responsible for any wires you send to an incorrect bank account. If you have any questions, please contact us about this or other ways to protect yourself, or email us.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED BY WIRE FRAUD, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU DO THE FOLLOWING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE:

Contact your bank to report the fraud and request a recall of the wire be sent to the receiving bank because of fraud.
Call the receiving bank’s fraud department to notify them you have requested a recall of the wire because of fraud and request the account be frozen.
Report the fraud to your local Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office.
Click here to file a complaint with the FBI’s official Internet Crime Complaint Center

Wire Fraud

There are a lot of cyber-criminals out there, and they steal billions of dollars through cyber-fraud every year. We have a team of Information Security and Legal professionals who work tirelessly in the daily fight against these cyber criminals. This short video is for real estate agents who serve a critical role in stopping wire fraud.

Fraudsters go where the money is, and therefore seller proceeds are one of their main targets. Your buyer is also a prime target for fraud.

How do fraudsters fool their victims? Fraudsters can hack into someone’s email account through a phishing scheme and gain the ability to read, send, copy, and even delete emails to cover their tracks. Once they have gained access, cyber criminals will often send buyers an email that looks like it came from you, or the title company handling the closing. The email appears to come from a reliable address and uses real estate terminology and a legitimate-looking email signature line.

Fraudsters can use these fake emails to fool victims into giving them personal details like a buyer’s contact information. They may also offer discounts and tell your buyer that they “must do this now!” in order to pressure them into making a mistake. Unfortunately, you will never see this email, only the buyer will.

Email is a must-use tool in business, so here are some steps that can be taken to protect against cyber-fraud:

Implement “two-factor authentication” With two-factor authentication, if a non-trusted device tries to access your email account, a message will be sent to your phone.

Education and Training: There is training available that can help you detect the signs of a fake email, such as poor grammar or bad syntax. This training also reinforces the importance of verifying an email address, using strong passwords and exercising caution when encountering suspicious links.

It is essential that you talk to your buyer about wire fraud, explaining to them what to look out for, and most importantly, imploring them to “Call before they wire!”

Your buyer must also understand how important it is to call a verified number from a website or the original paperwork to confirm wire instructions. Make sure that they do not call a number that is in an email because if the email is fraudulent, the number in that email will most likely be fraudulent.

If every buyer called before wiring, most, if not all, wire fraud would be eliminated. So please emphasize to your buyers how important it is to “Call before they wire.”

We work hard to prevent wire fraud from happening, but we can’t do it alone. With your help, buyers will be better educated and protected in the fight against fraud. If you have any questions, please email them to fraud@RealogyTitle.com.