Real Estate-related Fraud

Fewer homebuying transactions means less fraud, right? “No! What it means is there is a higher percentage of potential fraud per file,” Elizabeth Berg, the vice president for education and training at FNF Family of Companies, told attendees of the American Land Title Association’s ALTA One conference on Thursday. Or as Berg also put it: “Fraudsters gotta eat too.”

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.

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.

Stephen Gregory, a member of the bar in North Dakota, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, provided today’s review of a decision by an appeals court in Ohio  that addressed which parties could potentially be liable for wire fraud. Read on to learn why this case is important to the title and settlement industry.

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.”

Shaddock National Holdings will deploy CertifID’s wire fraud protection solution to its portfolio of title and escrow agencies to help protect against real estate-related payments risk.

From 2020 to 2022, there was a 27% increase in victim reports to the FBI’s Internet Crimes Complaint Center (IC3) of business email compromise (BEC) scams connected to real estate. During the same period, the FBI reported a 72% increase in victim loss due to BECs involving real estate.

Consumer real estate payments represent the most frequent target of wire fraud in 2022, with cybercriminals targeting buyer cash-to-close payments in particular, according to a report from CertifID.

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.

CertifID and Riebling Insurance announced newly expanded coverage against the risk of mortgage payoff fraud for authorized title agencies of FNF Family of Companies. The new offering was created to help protect mortgage payoff transactions

Retired teacher Vickie Ragle and her daughter Sarah found the home of their dreams, but when they went to their closing, they got a message saying the title company hadn’t received their down payment. Don't let your guard down when it comes to real estate wire fraud: ALTA provides multiple tools and resources for to help you protect your customers. Click here for more information.

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. 

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. 

Digital fraud has become highly sophisticated and, according to reports by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has risen by more than 100% since the COVID pandemic began. While scammers tend to target vulnerable consumers such as elderly populations, no one is immune. Here are common types of scams that prospective and current homeowners should be aware of, and how you can protect yourself.

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.

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.

Cyberattacks, particularly wire fraud through business email compromise, remain a major concern for the title industry. Attempted attacks increased significantly, according to a 2022 survey by the American Land Title Association, with 46% of respondents saying their employees receive at least one email a month attempting to change wire or payoff instructions. HousingWire sat down with ALTA CEO Diane Tomb to talk about ways title insurance companies can help their customers avoid falling prey to such attempts.