Wire Fraud: The Email That Could Cost You Your Down Payment

Imagine you've spent months looking for a home.

Your offer is accepted.

Inspections are finished.

Your loan is approved.

You're almost holding the keys.

Then an email arrives with wiring instructions.

It looks legitimate.

The names are familiar. The transaction details appear correct. Maybe the signature even looks exactly like previous emails you've received.

You wire the money.

Except you didn't send it to escrow.

You sent it to a criminal.

Why Wire Fraud Is So Dangerous

Real estate transactions create an attractive target because large amounts of money move electronically between buyers, sellers, lenders and settlement professionals.

The scam doesn't necessarily require someone to hack your bank.

Sometimes criminals compromise or imitate communications and wait for exactly the right moment.

Then you receive:

"Updated wiring instructions."

That should immediately trigger verification.

The Most Important Phone Call in Your Transaction

Before wiring funds, independently contact the escrow or title professional handling your transaction.

And here's the important part:

Don't verify suspicious wiring instructions using the contact information contained in the suspicious message.

Use a number you already know to be correct or independently verify it.

Confirm the:

• Recipient
• Bank
• Account information
• Amount
• Instructions

If anything changed, verify again.

Two minutes can protect hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Sellers Aren't Immune

Buyers aren't the only people moving money.

Sellers may be expecting substantial proceeds at closing.

That means everyone in the transaction should be careful when bank-account information or disbursement instructions are involved.

My Rule

Email is communication. It is not verification.

If someone is asking you to move a significant amount of money, use another channel to confirm the request.

If You've Already Sent Money

Act immediately.

Contact your financial institution and the appropriate settlement professionals involved in your transaction.

Don't wait because you're embarrassed or because you're hoping the situation will resolve itself.

Speed matters when attempting to recover fraudulently transferred funds.

Ask Arielle

Q: Arielle, escrow emailed me and said the wiring instructions changed. Does that automatically mean it's fraud?

No.

But it means I'm picking up the phone.

A legitimate change can happen. The point isn't to assume everything is fraudulent.

The point is to verify before you trust.

Arielle Dixon, REALTOR®
Christie's International Real Estate Sereno
CalDRE #02056018

General educational information only. Contact the appropriate financial institution, escrow/title professional, law enforcement agency or attorney regarding suspected fraud.