Watch Out for Wire Fraud
Two lovely, financially sophisticated clients of ours nearly lost their entire deposit - several hundred thousand dollars - to wire fraud. Luckily an alert person at their bank saved them from possible disaster.
Wire fraud has been a major and growing problem in the real estate industry. Sophisticated cyber-criminals are stealing untold millions every year. Here are a few ways to protect yourself:
Ask your attorney and your lender at the very beginning if and when you will be asked to wire money, and what the protocols are.
If you receive an email directing you to wire money, even if it seems legitimate, call the person who made the request to verbally confirm. Do not call the phone number in the email requesting the wire. Use a phone number you have for that person that’s from somewhere else, like a previous email or their website.
Check the email address to ensure it’s exactly the same as the email address of the supposed sender. In the case we mentioned above, the email address looked correct. On closer inspection, two letters had been switched, creating a new, false address. You’d never have noticed if you weren’t looking for it.
Avoid scheduling closes on Fridays. There is a 24 hour window to catch and recall fraudulent wires. Banks aren’t open on Saturdays and Sundays so you won’t be able to pursue it until Monday. By then it’s too late.
Bottom line, remaining vigilant and confirming any wiring requests will go a long way towards protecting your assets.
