Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM December 2018 | Page 18

Real Estate
and Wire Fraud
By: Deborah Bly
RE/MAX Space Center - The Bly Team
Kimberly McFarland
First American Title Insurance Company
Cybercrime is a rapidly growing problem across the
globe. Real Estate Transactions have not been immune to
Spear Phishing Scammers targeting hard earned dollars
from bot buyers or sellers involved in a Real Estate
transaction. For Buyers, they instruct the buyer that there are “new”
wire instructions for depositing their money for closing
and instruct the unsuspecting buyer to wire their funds
using the new phony wiring instructions. Once the money
is wired, they disappear along with the buyer’s funds for
closing.
The National Association of Realtors reported that in
2016 the annual global cost of cybercrime was a
whopping $19 million. By 2017 that number grew to $1.4
Billion, and by 2019 that number is estimated to increase
to an estimated $2.1 trillion. For Sellers it works much the same way only in the case of
a Seller they pose as Seller requesting wire transfer of net
proceeds.
Gone are the days of the Phishing scams we used to hear
about where someone would receive an email from a
prince in a far-off country who needed help securing his
millions. Those sad victims who fell for these tall tales
would then wire in their own hard-earned money in hopes
of cashing in on that alleged fortune, only to learn it was
all a hoax.
Today’s Phishing scammers have become much more
sophisticated, and they are targeting home buyers and
sellers. Well intentioned home buyers and sellers are
falling victim to these scams every day and losing
everything that they have worked long and hard for. Per
FBI statistics, record number of wire fraud victims were
reported across the country this past selling season.
The anatomy of these Real Estate Phishing Scams usually
follow the same outline. A scammer hacks into an email
account and begins to watch for emails with information
regarding a pending real estate transaction. They then
use information such as email addresses, email signatures
and phone numbers to pose as someone related to the
transaction (realtor, title company, lender, seller, etc.)
Once they sense a moment of distraction or anticipation,
the fraudster will then intercept into the email thread
posing as the title company.
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MOMENTUM / December 2018
These criminals are virtually untraceable, and funds stolen
will likely never be recovered.
So how can you avoid becoming a victim of one of these
scams?
• Protect your email. Enable security measures like multi
factor authentication on email accounts
• Call before you wire funds. If something seems strange,
call a verified phone number to confirm any and all
wiring instructions. Do NOT call the number on the
email to verify!
• Slow down! Hackers count on deadlines driving people
to act quickly.
• If you discover a fraudulent transfer, contact your bank
or financial institution immediately and request that
they recall the funds.
• Inspect every email. Look for subtle differences in email
address of accounts that appear the same as those from
the title company, lender or your real estate agent. Be
aware of last-minute changes that don’t seem legitimate
and improper grammar or common phrases being
misused.
We are in a rapid techno changing world and these
criminals are smart and adapt quickly. It is up to all of us
to take responsibility and beware!