Protect Yourself From Wire Fraud During Your Closing
Wire fraud and email hacking/phishing attacks are on the increase. When closing on your home it is important to always be alert and aware of these scams. You can never be too careful when protecting yourself from wire fraud! We’ve come up with 5 tips that you should implement to diminish the threat of wire fraud during your closing process!
1. Understand your closing process
Gaining an understanding of your closing process before any money is due is a great way to avoid getting scammed. It’s always a good practice to speak directly with your agent to talk about what to expect during the closing process and ask your lender how you should wire money. Be very cautious when discussing the closing process over email, as phishers can easily gain access to this information and use it to trick you. If at any point you feel uncomfortable with communicating something over email, don’t hesitate to call instead!
2. Do not respond to any emails containing Wire Transfer Instructions
If you receive an email containing Wire Transfer Instructions at any point during your closing, do not click anything in the email and do not respond to the email. Instead, call your escrow officer/closer immediately, using previously known contact information and NOT information provided in the email, to verify the information prior to sending funds.
3. Write down contact information
At the beginning of the closing process, you should write down contact information for everyone involved in the transaction. Write down any contact methods that you have for you lender, real estate agent, closer/escrow officer, and anyone else who may be involved. Be sure to write down names, numbers, emails, and any other forms of contact information you receive. Having these forms of communication written down will help you when you need to confirm wire instructions or other information. It will also help you determine if something is sketchy if important information comes from a different method of contact outside of the list you have written down.
4. Get a physical copy of the wire instructions directly from your closer
If you are ever in doubt, the most sure-fire way to avoid Wire Fraud is to obtain a physical copy of the wire instructions directly from your closer rather than over the phone or email.
5. Call your escrow officer/closer to verify wire instructions prior to sending funds
Lastly, you should ALWAYS call to verify wire instructions prior to sending funds. Be sure to call your closer/title company using the contact information that you received directly from them at the beginning of your closing process. Do not use contact information that you received in any unverified emails.