How to Protect Yourself Against Wire Fraud

Everyday, fraudsters use email with logos, email addresses and formats that look very much like an email you may receive from your Realtor, lender or escrow officer - resulting in millions of dollars lost during real estate transactions.

Here are some suggestions to protect yourself from wire fraud:

1. Be aware of the types of wire fraud - the phone scams asking you to wire funds, people posing as IRS agents indicating something is wrong with your return and you need to send additional funds, computer 'techs' indicating your home computer is not working properly and asking for access to your computer, and now email scams asking you to wire funds to a different account than the one used by the title company.

2. Work with trusted institutions - know whom you are working with at your bank, financial institute and mortgage company.  Get to know your escrow officer on the purchase transaction as he or she will eventually be asking you to wire funds for closing, and you want to ensure the request actually comes from that individual.

3. Be vigilant - watch for red flags in everything you receive.  An extra letter or number in an email address, incorrect grammar in the content of the email or timing that doesn't seem right may all be clues that the request to wire funds isn't from the title company assisting with your transaction.

4. Sign up for account alerts or two-step authentication on your accounts to ensure no one else has access to your funds.

5. Take action - first, when requested to wire funds for closing, have the financial institute call to confirm the account for the title company before wiring funds.  Next, after 4-8 hours, call your escrow officer to confirm the funds for closing were received and deposited.   If you feel you've been scammed, contact the financial institute immediately, stop the wire transfer if possible, and consider calling the local FBI office to report the potential scam.

Buyer and selling a home is an exciting, and huge, step for most people.  Let's be sure we are being diligent and safe with your personal ID, acccounts, and funds throughout the transaction.