Information Security and Wire Transfer Fraud are critical topics for the land title insurance and settlement industry. Wire Transfer Fraud is a threat to every title operation regardless of size, location or years in business. ALTA’s priority is helping you protect your systems, plan for a rapid response in case of an incident, and prepare your employees, clients and customers to be aware and vigilant.
Industry Standard Policies and Tools
- ALTA Outgoing Wire Preparation Checklist: Use this checklist as a best practice for verifying outgoing wire information.
- ALTA Rapid Response Plan for Wire Fraud Incidents: Use this tool to customize your action plan when a wire fraud attempt occurs.
- Video: How To Complete an IC3 Report. Watch the video to see how easy it is to help law enforcement gather information.
- ALTA Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan: Use this tool to help your team to establish and maintain secure systems and be prepared to act quickly if an incident occurs. Leverage these resources to implement Step 1: Preparation:
- ALTA Cyber System Overview: Use this narrative to improve your understanding of a Cyber System Inventory, why it is important to Cybersecurity efforts, and how to create and maintain your company's inventory.
- ALTA Cyber System Inventory Workbook: Use this model workbook to create and customize your company's inventory.
- ALTA Business Impact Analysis: Use this guide to examine your software applications, determine which resources are critical to your operation, and discover when to add resources to minimize the business impact of downtime.
Employee Training and Awareness
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- Monitor and Improve Employee Skills.
Consider a phishing security test for all of your employees. These companies can help:- Security Planner: https://securityplanner.org
- PhishMe: https://phishme.com/free
- KnowBe4: https://www.knowbe4.com/resources
- Webinars:
- ALTA Webinars provide access to industry experts and the latest information about information security topics. Visit the ALTA Webinars page to learn more.
- Monitor and Improve Employee Skills.
Resources for Your Clients and Consumers
- Wire Fraud Tips Video: Share this 1-minute video with homebuyers so they know how to protect their money.
- ALTA Wire Fraud Video: This 2-minute video provides four tips on how consumers can protect their money and offers advice on what to do if they have been targeted by a scam. Link to this video from your website, include in your email or share on social media.
- ALTA Wire Fraud Rack Card: ALTA has produced this Rack Card explaining Wire Fraud. ALTA Members can brand the infographic with their own information at the ALTAprints website. This rack card can also be branded in 14 different languages.
- ALTA Wire Fraud PowerPoint for Consumer Education: (Member-only content) Use this presentation to educate consumers about the dangers of phishing emails and wire transfer fraud. The presentation provides information on what to do if you’ve fallen victim to a scam and also highlights 10 tips to prevent wire fraud.
Get Information to Help Your Business and Your Customer Protect Closing Funds
Information Security Articles
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‘It Shocked Me’: Scammers Now Using AI Deepfakes to Fraudulently Sell Real Estate
It’s a sophisticated scam you may have never heard of—using AI technology to try and fraudulently sell property -- but it almost happened recently in Hallandale Beach. A would-be scammer used a missing woman’s photo to create an AI video image and used it to appear on a Zoom call with a title company.
Alert: Phishing Email Appears to Come From Ellie Mae Targets Title Industry
The fraudulent email has the subject line "You have a new Title & Closing request from the Encompass Title Center."
Revision to ALTA Best Practices Published as Final
The revisions have been made with the objective of allowing agents and direct operations to continue to optimize their practices and procedures to ensure financial safety, data security and operational stability, and to provide lenders with the assurances that their needs are being fulfilled by improved operations. Revisions address password management and closing transactions not involving state regulated title insurance policies.
Mapping out Elements of a Robust Cybersecurity Implementation Program
The purpose of a cybersecurity plan is threefold: to ensure the security and privacy of sensitive customer data, to meet the strict regulatory requirements that exist to protect customers from fraud and ensure fair transactions, and to build and maintain client trust through appropriate risk management protocols. Read on as Shawn Fox of Premier One offers four key steps to consider when establishing a strong cybersecurity program.
ALTA Member Company Knight Barry Title Warns Fake Sellers Spoofing Title Company Websites
Knight Barry Title is warning its partners, industry colleagues and consumers about a “new twist” in tactics by cybercriminals engaged in seller impersonation fraud. Over the last month, the Wisconsin-based title company has thwarted multiple attempts by scammers to set up fake webpages to look Knight Barry's website. Read on to learn what the title company is doing to help uncover spoofed sites.