Phishing and wire fraud scams are affecting real estate brokers, title companies, and their customers across the country. A thief hacks into a party to a real estate transaction, sends out an email of where to send the final funds for closing, and poof. Those funds are gone. Its happening and its real.
The National Association of REALTORS® is urging real estate professionals across the country to immediately implement safety measures to reduce the risk of becoming a victim.
As a reminder, the following precautions should be taken related to bank wire transfers:
- ALWAYS PERSONALLY VERIFY wire instructions by calling the party who sent the instructions. Use only phone numbers that you have called before or can otherwise verify. Do not use the number provided in the sender’s email. The hacker may have inserted a fraudulent telephone number in the email. Do not send an email to verify instructions because the sender’s listed email address may be false or a hacker may intercept your email to the sender.
- VERBALLY ASK the party who sent the instructions to confirm the ABA routing number or SWIFT code and the credit account number. Because a hacker may have altered the attachment containing the wire instructions, simply asking the sender whether wire instructions were sent is not sufficient.
- DO NOT AGREE to requests to forward wire instructions to other parties (or their brokers) unless you have personally, verbally confirmed the instructions.
- BE VERY SUSPICIOUS of emails with purportedly updated, revised, or corrected wiring instructions. It is extremely rare that a title agent will change wire instructions during the course of a transaction.
- MAKE SURE you are not sending or requesting sensitive financial information in emails (e.g., Social Security numbers, bank accounts, credit card numbers, wiring instructions). Also, make sure to use strong passwords (e.g., 8 characters including both letters and numbers and nothing obvious) and frequently change your passwords.
- DON’T open attachments or click on links from unfamiliar sources because they could contain malware or be a phishing scheme, which once opened could allow a hacker the same access that you have to your computer and accounts.
- CONSIDER updating your company’s disclosures and warnings to customers regarding these scams.
For more information on wire-fraud scams or to report an incident, please refer to the following links:
Federal Bureau of Investigation: http://www.fbi.gov
Internet Crime Complaint Center: http://www.ic3.gov
National White Collar Crime Center: http://www.nw3c.org
On Guard Online: http://www.onguardonline.gov
This Important Notice is not intended to provide legal advice. You should consult with a lawyer if you have any questions.
Be sure to closely work with your Realtor & title company when wiring funds for closing.
Lori Vialpando Coldwell Banker Residential 303-324-5731 homes@lori-v.com http://www.Lori-V.com #DenverRealtorRuns
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