Wire Fraud Advisory

The Real Estate Business Is No Exception

The ability to communicate and conduct business electronically is a convenience and reality in nearly all parts of our lives. At the same time, it has provided hackers and scammers new opportunities for their criminal activity. Many businesses have been victimized and the real estate business is no exception.

While wiring funds is a welcome convenience, Buyers and Sellers need to exercise extreme caution. Emails attempting to induce fraudulent wire transfers have been received and have appeared to be legitimate. Reports indicate that some hackers have been able to intercept emailed wire transfer instructions, obtain account information and, by altering some of the date, redirect the funds to a different account. It also appears that some hackers were able to provide false phone numbers for verifying the wiring instructions. In those cases, the Buyers called the number provided, to confirm the instructions, and then unwillingly authorized a transfer to somewhere other than escrow. Sellers have also had their sales proceeds taken through similar schemes.

ACCORDINGLY, BUYERS AND SELLERS ARE ADVISED:

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