It is extremely rare, if at all, that wiring instructions change during a real estate transaction, always verify any change request, with all parties, before you make any changes to your wiring instructions, do not wire funds in a rush.
You can help prevent wire fraud, by stopping funds winding up in the hands of a fraudster cyber criminals by using the Stop!, Call, Verify process method:
STOP! - If you receive an email, or text, with new wiring instructions, do not reply. If you receive a phone call with new wiring instructions, tell the caller you’re going to hang up to verify the information.
CALL - To ensure you have received a legitimate request, call a trusted phone number you have used before, to contact the buyer, seller, title agent, lender, or escrow officer, or do an internet search for the main phone number, of the company, and person requesting the change. Do NOT use a number listed in a email, fax, or text sent to you, do not call back a voice message number with any new wiring instructions, often these instruction are presented as urgent. The person on the other end is most likely a fraudster, or cyber criminal , ready and willing to trick you into diverting funds to their account.
VERIFY - Call only known trusted phone numbers, talk directly with, the person about whom the email, fax, text or call message had supposedly come and sent from. Verify the nature of the message regarding any changes to wiring instructions, rarely is that case, wiring instruction change, it would almost require restarting the entire real estate transaction process from the beginning, in order to do so.
If you think, or you suspect, that you have received fraudulent wiring instructions by e-mail, every trusted person involved should be notified and change their e-mail account passwords immediately!
Please, do not hesitate to call us at (609) 587-7545, regrading any concerns you may have about your real estate title insurance transaction.
Always Verify – Confirm in-person and with all trusted parties, all instructions to wire and transfer monies, rarely, if ever, do the initial wire transfer instructions change!
Don’t be Rushed – Because wire transfers are irrevocable, the fraudsters success of the wire fraud, depends on and is realized, by acting quickly to their new instructions.
Don’t be rushed.
Know all the persons involved with your transactions– Be sure you know, and are aware of everyone involved, in all your real estate and title transactions from the very beginning of the process. Ensure you have everyone's contact phone numbers from the onset.
Never deal by E-mail, Fax or Text Only – converse with all parties involved, outside of email, fax or text before transferring funds, never rely solely on using e-mail, fax or text messages.
Don't be afraid to double check, call us anytime (609) 587-7545, during your real estate title transaction, with any questions you may have.
Awareness and verification are the keys to a fraud free real estate transaction.
If your interactions at anytime don’t feel right: Stop!, Call, Verify.
In the world of title insurance, one of the biggest threats to our customers is wire fraud. Real estate and title insurance wire fraud is one of the largest cyber crimes according to the FBI in 2017.
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