How does wire fraud work? What can be done to prevent it? Here’s what you should know.
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How has the prevalence of wire fraud affected the real estate industry? My loving husband, Chris, is here with me today to elaborate.
Wire fraud usually happens when hackers access someone’s email, typically the title company or the lender, and they change the wiring instructions between the buyer or seller. They’ll instruct them to send the money to the hacker’s own offshore bank account instead of the company they intended. Then that money is gone forever.
However, there are things we can do to prevent this from happening. The first and biggest thing to do is call and confirm with your bank that the information for the account you’re sending money to is actually the one you should.
A cashier’s check can’t be taken through an email or a bank wire.
Another way clients are combatting wire fraud is by switching to the old-school method of sending a cashier’s check, which can’t be taken through an email or a bank wire.
This can be a scary topic, but if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be happy to elaborate and educate you further about how to avoid becoming the victim of wire fraud.