How to Avoid Wire Fraud in a Real Estate Transaction
How to Avoid Wire Fraud in a Real Estate Transaction
Nicole Serviss, RE/MAX Elite
Wire fraud is a very real risk. Scammers have gotten very good and duplicating emails that look like they’re coming from your Realtor, Lender, or Escrow Officer. See below for an example of this:
These scammers were clever. They used an email address almost identical to the broker's email address and they established a sense of urgency, capitalizing on the buyer's fear of economic turmoil due to the Coronavirus. Recently, a couple in San Diego lost almost $800,000 to a wire fraud scam. See article here.
The most common times a scammer will try to get your money is when you need to submit your earnest money payment or when you are paying your closing costs/downpayment on your new home.
Whether you’re in a real estate transaction or not, if you receive an email asking you to wire money, stop and call that person from the phone number you have for them or a number you find online. Verify that is was indeed them and not a scammer.
Stay safe out there and feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
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