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
- 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 to Watch:
- Data Security Essentials: Strategies to Protect Non-public Personal Information (Download copy of presentation)
- Fortify Your Business: Lock Down Data and Protect Client Funds (Download copy of presentation)
- Safeguarding Escrow Trust Accounts
- Best Practices: Protecting Non-public Personal Information (Download copy of presentation)
- Fraud and Your Escrow/Trust Accounts (Download copy of presentation)
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 Infographic: ALTA has produced this Rack Card explaining Wire Fraud. ALTA Members can brand the infographic with their own information at the ALTAprints website.
- 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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First American Reports Cybersecurity Incident
In response, the company took “certain systems offline” and is working to return to normal business operations.
Hackers Using Microsoft Teams and SharePoint to Spread Malware
If you use Microsoft Teams or SharePoint, you should be extra careful about the links and files you open. A new attack campaign has been discovered that uses these platforms to deliver malware named DarkGate, which can steal your data, spy on your activities, and even encrypt your files for ransom.
Quantum Leap in Technology: Boon for Title Agents and Bane for Cybersecurity
It is exciting to learn about and experiment with the next-generation AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Bard. There is an incredible amount of potential to be unlocked and doubtless hundreds of ways in which we’ll soon see the title and settlement services industry impacted by this breathtaking new technology. But there’s a cautionary note to this advance: The most successful criminals are also racing to be the first to exploit this new technology.
3 Common Misconceptions About Password Security
Everyone knows that choosing a strong password is a critical step in securing the various systems and accounts we all use daily. However, you may be surprised to learn that some commonly held beliefs about passwords are more harmful than helpful. Read on to learn about three of these misconceptions to ensure that you and your business are armed with the right information to keep up with the latest password security best practices.
ALTA Insights: Real-life Uses of AI in Title
Artificial intelligence (AI) and its myriad uses is the hottest trend across all industries this year. But the title insurance industry is at the brink of a significant transformation, with AI and Large Language Models (LLM) like ChatGPT providing an opportunity to bring about groundbreaking efficiencies and accuracy. Listen to this webinar recording and where these powerful tools can be used while carefully managing potential risks.
Review of NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulations Proposed Changes
The New York Department of Financial Services has issued three rounds of proposed amendments to its cybersecurity regulations. Read on for a review of the latest proposals and requirements for covered entities.
Mr. Cooper Cybersecurity Incident Exposes Customer Data
It's been over 10 days since Mr. Cooper experienced a cybersecurity incident that impacted its servicing system and now it believes customer data was exposed. According to an SEC filing, the attack could cost the company at least $5 to $10 million. According to the company's website as of Friday morning, "We are continuing to investigate precisely what information was exposed.
Over Half of U.S. Real Estate Professionals Experienced a Seller Impersonation Fraud Attempt in 2023
According to an October 2023 survey from CertifID, 54% of real estate professionals reported having experienced at least one seller impersonation fraud attempt within the past six months. Meanwhile, 77% of real estate professionals surveyed claimed to have seen an increase in seller impersonation fraud attempts within the same period.
Embracing Fintech Led to Trouble for One Small Bank
Blue Ridge Bank, a community bank in Virginia that dove headfirst into the business of partnering with fintechs, has been in a pinch ever since getting hit with a broad enforcement action last year. After nearly a year of turmoil, the company's new CEO told S&P Global Market Intelligence this summer that the bank was reducing its focus on fintechs and shifting back to its roots in community banking.
AI Playing ‘Transformative’ Role in Reshaping the Real Estate Industry
The real estate industry is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) tools for a variety of new use cases ranging from identifying potential investments to forecasting how renovations may impact a property’s value. The National Association of Realtors has seen a "particularly rapid uptake" of AI tools by real estate industry firms.
October Is Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Since 2004, the U.S. president and Congress have declared the month of October to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Read on for tips and resources from ALTA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Qualia Launches New Wire Fraud Detection Product
In addition to the wire fraud detection features, Qualia Shield also provides a way for agents to integrate their client portal with banks.
ChatGPT: Unmistakable Benefits or Pandora's Box?
Among the advantages of ChatGPT is the ability to generate content quickly with minimal effort. On the flip side, potential risks of the natural language processing tool include plagiarism, security, privacy and bias. Read on as title professionals debate the pros and cons, as well as a look at how Congress, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission are approaching this technology.
Why Cyber Insurance is Non-negotiable for the Title Industry
The title industry has seen an increase in cyberattacks, including the severity of the repercussions that follow. Listen to this ALTA Insights webinar as Naval Officer Joe Brunsman, a well-known cyber insurance risk expert and best-selling author of Damage Control: Cyber Insurance and Compliance, takes a deep dive into the topics of cyber liability coverage, new safeguard data security requirements, important security regimes and important exclusions. What you don’t know will hurt you.
How to Report Fraud to the FBI More Effectively
Federal agencies urged mortgage companies and banks to be more vigilant in reporting compromised real estate transactions to their local financial crime units and to do so in specific ways that would increase the likelihood of an investigation. A way for companies to help government agencies, such as the FBI and Secret Service, catch bad actors is by being mindful in how they fill out consumer complaints including the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) form. Watch this video to learn how to submit information to the IC3.
Leveraging Language Models for Efficiency and Accuracy in Title Insurance Underwriting
Large Language Models (LLM), like ChatGPT, are capable of processing large volumes of data and extracting valuable insights. Processing happens in one of two ways, either by fine tuning a large language model with pre-existing text or by providing the text as “context.” Read to learn about the efficiencies and risks of LLMs and the indispensable role that they will inevitably play in the title industry.
CertifID Secures $20M in Series B Funding
The wire fraud protection company said the latest investment will fund continued product development and scale operations to meet the demands of an industry transacting trillions of dollars annually.
Do You Own Property? Be Aware of This Scam That’s Sweeping the Real Estate Market
Imagine you’re surfing Zillow. You’re scrolling through the listings when you come to a dead stop. Your own property is on the site, up for sale, but you never intended to sell. Read this article to learn more about a land owner's experience with seller impersonation fraud in Washington state, and click here for more from ALTA on the red flags and precautions to this scam.
The New Normal: How Title Agencies Are Fighting Crime Without a Badge
Seller impersonation has now been perfected by scammers working together on what appears to be a nationally coordinated effort. The potential to harvest large sums of money has attracted the resources of organized crime syndicates. They’re increasingly emboldened and they are targeting higher value properties. The key is to incorporate multiple layers of protection into your strategy to help prevent this fraud.
How Mortgage AI Chatbots Stack Up Against ChatGPT
Zillow and Redfin both created ChatGPT plugins that will allow users to search for homes with a conversation. InstaMortgage came out with a voice-activated avatar version of ChatGPT named Rachel. Several other mortgage companies released internally trained AI chatbots.
How the Mortgage Industry is Responding to Cybersecurity Risk
While Fannie Mae is partnering with Amazon Web Services to strengthen its defenses against cyber attacks, other entities are urging greater vigilance through enforcement. For example, the New York State Department of Financial Services is issuing fines to lenders who fail to provide adequate cybersecurity for their customers' private information.
Closinglock Announces SOC 2 Type II Certification
The SOC 2 Type II audit was conducted by a third-party auditor who verified Closinglock’s security policies, procedures, and controls in accordance with American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) standards for SOC for Service Organizations (SSAE 18).
CertifID Reports Spike in Mortgage Payoff Fraud Attempts
CertifID reported that its PayoffProtect mortgage payoff verification product tracked a 5x increase in mortgage payoff fraud attempts from Q1 to Q2 2023. The wire fraud protection company predicted losses are slated to accelerate as July’s numbers show similarly elevated levels of payoff fraud attempts, an early indication of potential for major losses in Q3 2023.
Alternatives to Authenticator Applications
The alternatives to authenticator applications, if you don't have or don't want to use a mobile phone, are FIDO2 hardware devices.
California Court Delays Enforcement of Certain Privacy Rules
On June 30, the Sacramento County Superior Court issued a decision to delay enforcement of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) regulations until March 29, 2024. Read on for the key takeaways from the ruling.
How to Install Authenticator Apps
Genady Vishnevetsky, chief information security officer for Stewart Title Guaranty Co. and chair of ALTA's Information Security Work Group, details how to install two of the most common multi-factor authentication (MFA) applications, Google Authenticator and Authy.
Why Multi-factor Authentication Is a Must
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a must in today's world of continuously compromised passwords. Read on as Genady Vishnevetsky, chief information security officer for Stewart Title Guaranty Co., details two of the most common MFA applications.
Tokenizing Real Estate Assets Introduces New Consumer Risks for Unproven Benefits
Justin Lischak Earley, chief innovation underwriter at First American Title, studies the concept of tokenizing real estate assets, and has published thought-provoking perspectives on what is real and what is not in terms of non-fungible tokens in real estate. Read on as Lischak Earley recaps some of his key points from his presentation “Bear With Me: The Bearer-Asset Dangers of Tokenizing Real Estate.”
A Robust Replacement for Traditional Antivirus Programs
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a next generation cybersecurity solution that provides more advanced and comprehensive protection for your devices compared with traditional, static antivirus applications that only address simple signature-based malware threats.
Wire Fraud in Real Estate: Beware of Criminals Targeting Your Down Payment
A New Jersey couple lost nearly $92,000 to real estate wire fraud—and they’re not alone. "It's an epidemic now,” says Diane Tomb, CEO of the American Land Title Association, the national trade association for the title industry. “Four years ago, we heard about this kind of thing a couple times a month. Now it’s multiple times a day.”
The Docket: Eleventh Circuit Finds No Coverage for Fraudulent Wire Transfer Under Cybercrime Endorsement
Stephen Gregory, claims counsel for WFG National Title Insurance Co., reviews a recent decision by the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals that affirmed a title company did not have coverage for a fraudulent wire transfer under the cybercrime endorsement of its cybersecurity policy. Read on for the facts of the case.
Report: $1.4B in Suspected Wire Fraud Identified by CertifID in 2022
CertifID identified $1.4 billion in suspected wire fraud attempts during 2022, according to a report released by the wire fraud protection firm. The report shows an 145% year-over-year increase in instances of reported wire fraud.
Title Company’s Crime Policy Covers Fraudulent Wire Transfer
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Feb. 1 upheld a lower court ruling finding that a title company was wrongly denied coverage under its crime protection policy for a wire fraud involving a loan payoff. While this case is not slated for publication and can’t be serve as a precedent, it can prove instructive for title companies looking to make claims under a crime policy for a payoff fraud.
Stellar Loan Performance Continued in November
The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate continued to hold at near-record lows in November, with 2.9% of all mortgages in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure), according to CoreLogic’s Loan Performance Insights Report. That’s a 0.7 percentage point decrease compared to 3.6% in November 2021.
Wire Fraud Advisory: Vacant Property Fraud
Real estate transactions have been a prime target of cybercrime over the past decade, and there is little sign of change in this focus, even as the housing market slows. Instead, fraudsters continue to evolve their scam and money laundering tactics to avoid detection. CertfID reports that the latest trend involves vacant lots or unencumbered properties. Read on for educational resources from ALTA to help consumers protect their money.
Tangible Risk Mitigation Tactics to Thwart Cyberattacks
Title and settlement companies report that the volume of cyberattacks have either increased or remained the same last year when compared to 2020. Because of this, title professionals should know essential risk-mitigation processes to protect against wire fraud and other cyber threats.
Don’t Answer Another Online Quiz Question Until You Read This
Personality tests, quick surveys, and other types of online quizzes ask seemingly harmless questions, but the more information you share, the more you risk it being misused. Scammers could do a lot of damage with just a few answers that give away your personal information. We’ve heard about scammers phishing for answers to security question data through quizzes. They use your quiz answers to try and reset your accounts, letting them steal your bank and other account information. Some scammers hack social media accounts and send malware links to friends of the hacked account holder under the guise of sharing a quiz.
Several County Recording Offices Impacted by Possible Cyberattack
A possible cyberattack against a property records management vendor has left several county offices with the inability to allow for searches of their land records or electronically record documents.