Tagged: closing cost scam Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Geebo 8:00 am on August 22, 2025 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , closing cost scam, ,   

    Real Estate Wire Fraud on the Rise 

    Real Estate Wire Fraud on the Rise

    By Greg Collier

    A new scam is making its way through the housing market, taking advantage of buyers at their most vulnerable moment: the closing process. At a time when large sums of money are being transferred under tight deadlines, criminals are finding ways to insert themselves into the transaction and divert funds.

    The scheme often begins with compromised communications. Fraudsters gain access to emails between buyers, lenders, and title companies by using stolen credentials or other cyber intrusion methods. With access to real conversations and timelines, scammers can convincingly pose as legitimate contacts. Once they know the lender, the amount owed, and the expected timing, they send instructions that appear authentic, tricking buyers into wiring funds to fraudulent accounts.

    What makes this particularly concerning is how widespread it has become. Losses tied to real estate wire fraud have multiplied dramatically over the last decade, reflecting both the growing sophistication of cybercriminals and the continued reliance on electronic communications in the homebuying process. Current estimates suggest that as many as one in four homebuyers entering closing are being targeted.

    Public records and property listings make it easy for scammers to identify potential victims. Artificial intelligence has only accelerated the problem, giving criminals tools to refine their impersonations and increase the likelihood of success. The complexity of buying a home, coupled with emotional pressure and looming deadlines, creates an environment where buyers may act quickly without questioning sudden changes.

    For those who fall victim, recovery is rarely straightforward. Once funds are wired to fraudulent accounts, they are often transferred multiple times or sent overseas, making it nearly impossible for banks to reverse the transaction. Victims can spend months pursuing reimbursement through their financial institutions or law enforcement, but many never recover the full amount. Beyond the immediate financial blow, this can derail home purchases entirely and leave buyers facing both financial and emotional hardship.

    The most common point of attack is the transfer of closing funds. Buyers should treat any unexpected communication about wiring instructions with extreme caution. Even subtle alterations, such as a new account number or a last-minute change in procedure, can be an indication of fraud. Beyond the financial risk, victims often face delays in securing their homes and lengthy battles to recover lost funds.

    Protecting against this type of fraud requires heightened vigilance. Questioning unusual requests, verifying account details through trusted channels, and contacting real estate professionals directly before making any transfer can help reduce the risk. By slowing down the process and confirming instructions in person or by phone, buyers can create an extra layer of defense against a crime that continues to evolve with technology.

     
  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 12, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: closing cost scam, , ,   

    Closing costs stolen in real estate scam 

    Closing costs stolen in real estate scam

    By Greg Collier

    This scam doesn’t sound like it should be possible. It seems more like something you would see as a plot point in a movie. That doesn’t change the fact this scam happens rather regularly. While it is a type of phishing scam, this scam doesn’t even have a name for it, as far as we know. We’ve been calling it the closing cost scam, since it targets home buyers who are getting ready to close on their new homes. If it wasn’t for the fact that victims have lost upwards of $100,000, this scam could be considered genius. How it happened recently is especially uncanny.

    A man from Louisville, Kentucky, was getting ready to close on his new home, when he received an email that appeared to come from his closing attorney. The email instructed the man to wire $70,000 in order to prevent any delay with the closing procedure. After wiring the money, the man called his realtor, who informed him that the closing attorney did not send the email. The man tried to get the bank to stop the transfer of funds, but it had already happened, meaning the $70,000 was gone.

    Scammers were able to fool the victim because the email looked almost identical to the ones he had been receiving from his attorney, including the logo and signature. However, there was one minor detail the victim overlooked. The law office had the word Louisville in their name and in their email address. The scammers spelled Louisville in their email address with only one L, spelling it Louisvile.

    Somehow, scammers are getting into the email systems of realtors, lenders, and attorneys, and are monitoring the activity until someone goes to close before setting their trap. The scammers have also been known to stalk social media profiles of people who share with their friends that they’re getting ready to buy a house.

    If you’re getting ready to close on a home, be suspicious of any communication asking you to send money. If you receive an email like the one in the story above, call the sender to verify whether the request is legitimate or not. It would be even better to visit the sender in person to verify any requests. No one wants to go through the process of buying a new home only to have the deal fall through at the very last minute due to a scammer.

     
  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 13, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: closing cost scam, , , ,   

    Victim loses closing costs in real estate scam 

    Victim loses closing costs in real estate scam

    By Greg Collier

    When dealing with real estate, rental scams are not the only scam you have to worry about. Lately, we’ve seen an ever-increasing rise in a scam where the victims are set to close on a new home. The scammers are somehow sliding into the home buyer’s email and posing as the loan agency. The scammers then ask for the closing payment to be wired to them. By the time the victim realizes that they’ve been scammed, they’ve lost thousands of dollars with little to no recourse. We can’t even imagine the sense of dread that the victims of this scam feel when they find out they’ve not only lost their closing payment, but also finding out that the deal on their new home might fall through because of it.

    This is exactly what happened to one woman in Alabama when she was getting ready to close on her home. The night before she was getting ready to close on a new home for her and her children, she received an email that appeared to come from her closing agency. The email asked her to wire $6,000 for the closing costs. On closing day, she received a call from her bank asking her if anyone else had contacted her about the closing cost. She was then told that whoever contacted her wasn’t from the bank. As in most cases, once the wire transfer was sent, the money was unrecoverable.

    If you’re working with a loan agency, bank or credit union to obtain a mortgage for a new home, be suspicious of any communication asking you to send money. If you receive an email like the one in the story above, call the bank to verify that they sent the email in the first place. It would be even better to visit the bank in person to verify any requests. No one wants to go through the process of buying a new home only to have the deal fall through at the very last minute.

     
c
Compose new post
j
Next post/Next comment
k
Previous post/Previous comment
r
Reply
e
Edit
o
Show/Hide comments
t
Go to top
l
Go to login
h
Show/Hide help
shift + esc
Cancel