WIRE FRAUD AND REAL ESTATE

WIRE FRAUD IN REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS HAS BECOME A HUGE PROBLEM. Most real estate transaction funds ($$ dollars) deposits, transfers and disbursements involve Bank wires. Bad guys literally all over the world are trying and  all to often succeeding in fraudulently directing wired funds into their accounts and then "vanishing" with the money.

ALL PARTIES INVOLVED IN REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS (BUYERS, SELLERS, AGENTS, LAWYERS, ESCROW PERSONNEL, TITLE COMPANIES) SHOULD USE THE PRECAUTIONS LISTED BELOW.

Precautions related to bank wire transfers include:

ALWAYS PERSONALLY VERIFY wire instructions.

DO NOT AGREE to requests to forward wire instructions to other parties (or their brokers).  

BE VERY SUSPICIOUS of emails with purportedly updated, revised, or corrected wiring instruction It is extremely rare that a lawyer or title agent will change wire instructions during the course of a transaction.

PERSONALLY CALL the party who sent the instructions to confirm the ABA routing number or 

SWIFT code and the credit account number, but do not use the number provided in the sender’s 

email.  A hacker may have inserted a fraudulent telephone number in the email.  Use only phone numbers that you have called before or can otherwise verify. 

MAKE SURE you are not sending or requesting sensitive financial information in emails (e.g., SocialSecurity numbers, bank accounts, credit card numbers, wiring instructions). Also, use strong passwords (e.g., 8 characters including both letters and numbers, nothing obvious) and periodically 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 allows a hacker the same access that you have to 

your computer and accounts.