SCARY NEW SCAM

This is a new wire scam which has affected some realtors and transactions in Central Florida.  Whilst not affecting me personally, I wanted everyone to be aware and able to take the necessary precautions to prevent.

This is how it works - a hacker breaks into a realtor’s email account to find out about upcoming transactions, including Title company, amount of deposit, closing date, structure of closing payments etc.  They then send an email to the Buyer, posing as the title company or buyer’s agent requesting wiring of the necessary funds to close or for the deposit and the attached wire instructions direct the money to the hacker’s bank account.  Because the email appears to have come from a recognized source, the Buyer wires the funds without question.

In order to prevent this happening, many Title companies are providing password-protected wire instructions or not sending wire instructions via email. 

The best recommendation is for Buyers to call or their agent or title company (and only speak to someone they know in person, not an assistant or someone claiming to represent them) when they receive a request to wire funds. Then they can verify the validity of the request before sending the money.