Real Estate-related Fraud

The FBI released a report that summaries its efforts to combat business email compromise (BEC) scams and real estate wire fraud by working with partners to identify perpetrators and dismantle their organizations. The report was spurred by ALTA’s efforts the past two years to get language included in various House and Senate appropriations reports directing respective agencies to report on efforts to combat and raise awareness of BEC and wire fraud, and collaborate with industry partners to address threats.

Criminals have found a novel way to intercept wire transfers for down payments. Can a small team of Secret Service agents prevent your worst real estate nightmare? Earlier this year, ALTA’s advocacy team recently secured a win on the crucial legislative priority of wire fraud in real estate. Report language ALTA requested was included in the 2022 Omnibus Appropriations bill, which was recently passed by Congress and signed into law. This language directs the FBI to release a public report on the threat of BEC scams and to increase collaboration with industry and other private sector partners. Click here for resources to help inform and educate your customers about wire fraud.

What’s one thing buyers, sellers, renters, and landlords all have in common? They can all fall victim to a real estate scam. In fact, home-related hoaxes are on the rise. Losses from real estate cybercrimes have gone up nearly as fast as home prices—totaling more than $350.3 million last year, an increase of 64%, according to the FBI’s most recent Internet Crime Report.

The new PayoffProtect solution uses machine learning to automate and standardize the mortgage payoff demand letter verification process. In more than 95% of cases, the company’s validation engine software authenticates loan payoff wiring instructions.

Good news for the ALTA Good Deeds Foundation! CertifID, a wire fraud recovery and prevention company and ALTA Elite Provider, will be donating $25 to the ALTA Good Deeds Foundation for every person who attends a special webinar with ALTA CEO Diane Tomb. Register for this free session today.

The complaint alleges negligence and breach of fiduciary duty after an unknown third party impersonated the brokerage's title company and sent the buyers fraudulent wiring instructions.

Cyber attacks targeting title and settlement companies remained the same or increased over the past year, according to a recent ALTA survey.

This language directs the respective agencies to report on efforts to combat and raise awareness of business email compromise (BEC) schemes and collaborate with industry partners to address threats.

A Middle Tennessee man has a warning for others after he lost a quarter of a million dollars. Randall Shaw still can’t stomach the fact he almost lost that much money. “Nobody should every wire money based on an email they received,” said Diane Tomb, CEO of ALTA.

Good Morning America reported Tuesday on the increase of real estate wire fraud and how homebuyers can protect themselves. "Last year was a breakaway year, unfortunately, for consumers being victimized for real estate wire fraud as they're trying to get their downpayment and closing obligations satisfied, a lot of times by wire transfer," said Tom Cronkright, co-founder and CEO of CertifID. 

Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. and ClosingLock are partnering to help combat wire fraud for the underwriter’s agents. The partnership will allow Westcor to offer ClosingLock to their agents, protecting them from wire fraud in addition to improving the closing experience.

“We don’t want to see those trying to purchase homes derailed by wire transfer fraud. To help prevent this, we launched a campaign to inform homebuyers and policymakers about the dangers, along with signs of what may take place when closing on a new home or refinancing a mortgage,” said Jeremy Yohe, vice president of communications for the American Land Title Association.

The United States experienced an unprecedented increase in cyberattacks and malicious cyber activity as consumers lost $6.9 billion to internet crime in 2021, according to the FBI. Because of this, ALTA would like to know your company’s experience with wire transfer fraud or cybersecurity? Please take ALTA's Wire Fraud & Cyber Crime Survey to share your experience. The goal of the survey is to learn more about wire fraud incidents in the industry. Your participation and results of the survey will help ALTA continue to raise awareness and encourage federal agencies to focus more on the threat of wire transfer fraud. Survey results will help title and settlement agents benchmark wire fraud experiences and practices.