Protect Your Downpayment from Wire Transfer Fraud

How to Avoid Common Mortgage Wire Transfer Scams

The threat of mortgage wire transfer fraud is a serious concern for homebuyers. Cybercriminals find new methods to exploit homebuyers as transactions move online, often resulting in significant financial losses. With these simple tips, empower yourself with knowledge and protect yourself against mortgage wire transfer fraud attempts.

What is Wire Transfer Fraud in Real Estate?

Mortgage wire fraud occurs when scammers pose as your real estate agent or title company and use phishing techniques to divert your closing costs to a fraudulent account. Remember, phishing is when a scammer uses fake emails, phone numbers, or websites to impersonate credible sources.

How to Identify Phishing Attempts

Consumers often encounter numerous phishing attempts through email. One effective way to identify these scams is by examining the message for inconsistencies. Pay close attention to the sender's email address, the email subject line, and the message's content. Look for any potential red flags that may indicate a phishing attempt.

• Incorrect names

• Misspelled words

• Wrong email address or phone number

• Unusual links

• Urgent/dramatic calls to action

Cybercriminals aim to make you act impulsively by tailoring their messages with “Urgent” or “New Instructions Regarding Closing Funds.” Unsuspecting victims trying to buy a home may not stop and think before acting.

What Will Phishing Emails Instruct You to Do?

Cybercriminals will instruct homebuyers to change the process of submitting closing costs. This may include changing the form of payment or providing additional sensitive information to initiate the process. Generally, the content will consist of a link for the buyer to navigate, which is designed to compromise or prompt you to insert bank details, phone number, email, or social security number.

How to Identify Spoof Phone Calls

Spoofing happens when a cybercriminal uses software to disguise their calling number as that of a legitimate person or organization. As a result, the caller ID will appear as a trusted source. These attacks can be challenging to recognize, but if the person on the other end does not sound like the individual you usually communicate with, it is best to hang up the phone.

Smishing Texts

Smishing texts, or phishing texts, operate similarly to phishing emails. Smishing is a deceptive text sent by cybercriminals to get you to provide sensitive information. The content usually includes:

• We need you to act fast! The funds must be transferred today to secure your loan. Don’t delay!

• This is your bank’s fraud department. We’ve detected an issue with your mortgage wire transfer. Please send us the updated wire information so we can resolve this.

• Your mortgage approval is at risk! We need you to confirm your wire transfer immediately to avoid cancellation.

• There’s been a change in our wiring process. Please follow these new steps to ensure your deposit is received.

How to Avoid Common Mortgage Wire Transfer Scams

An easier way to avoid becoming a mortgage wire transfer fraud victim is to be apprehensive of last-minute change requests. Do not let urgent messaging influence you to make a quick decision.

• Know your closing process. Before the money is due, discuss the closing process with your real estate agent.

• Avoid exchanging information with people via email and establish an over-the-phone password that credible parties can use to confirm their identity.

• Financial information should never be sent via email. If your email account is ever compromised, cybercriminals can intercept this information.

• Write down contact information. To ensure you have the correct contact information, document each person’s name, number, email, and other necessary contact details.

What to Do if You’ve Been Scammed

Contact your bank or wire service to report a fraudulent wire transfer. If caught early enough, you may request a wire recall; in some cases, the money can be returned.

File a complaint with the FBI. Include as much detailed information as you can to help them potentially recover your funds.