Featured Resources
Video
Protect Your Money When Buying a Home from Scams
ALTA wants homeowners and sellers to be aware that criminals are using wire fraud schemes to steal money meant for home purchases or the proceeds from the sale of the property.
ALTA Insights Webinar
The State of Wire Fraud in the Title Industry
Significant progress has been made in our industry over the past few years on wire fraud awareness and education. The latest FBI IC3 and CertifID State of Wire Fraud reports contain some surprising findings.
Education Flyer
Seller Impersonation Fraud in Real Estate
Fraudsters are impersonating property owners to illegally sell commercial or residential property. Fraudsters are using the real property owner's Social Security and driver's license numbers in the transaction.
Policy + Tools
ALTA Outgoing Wire Preparation Checklist
ALTA's Information Security Committee developed this tool for members seeking best practices to verify outgoing wire information. The checklist is broken into three sections: provide the source of the wiring instructions, verify instructions received by email or from someone other than the payee, and verify delivery of wired funds.
ALTA Rapid Response Plan for Wire Fraud Incidents
The standard ALTA Rapid Response Plan for Wire Fraud Incidents has been developed by the ALTA Information Security Committee.
For Consumers
Protect Your Money When Buying a Home from Closing Scams
Buying and selling a home is an exciting time, but there can be pitfalls for unsuspecting consumers . The American Land Title Association wants homeowners and sellers to be aware that criminals are using wire fraud schemes to steal money meant for home purchases or the proceeds from the sale of the property.
Protect Your Money When Buying a Home from Closing Scams
Mortgage Closing Scams is one of the single costliest forms of fraud a homebuyer can fall victim to. This rack card is meant to be handed out any homeowner who is ready to purchase a home or added to the CPL packet. Available in Several languages
Seller Impersonation Fraud in Real Estate
Fraudsters are impersonating property owners to illegally sell commercial or residential property. Sophisticated fraudsters are using the real property owner's Social Security and driver's license numbers in the transaction, as well as legitimate notary credentials, which may be applied without the notary's knowledge.
In the News
Buyer Suffers Wire Transfer Fraud Loss, Not Escrow Company
A buyer bore the loss when she fell for the trap of phishing wire transfer instructions and wired the purchase money to a fraudster and not the escrow company, the Nevada court of appeals held in the case wheeler v. Clear title co., Inc.
The Latest Scam Vacant Land Fraud
Jaime Kosofsky had just spent a full day attending a cybersecurity conference hosted by Premier One. After eight hours of hearing about all the stuff that could go wrong, a founding partner of the North Carolina-based law firm Brady & ...
Training
The State of Wire Fraud in the Title Industry
Buying and selling a home is an exciting time, but there can be pitfalls for unsuspecting consumers. The American Land Title Association wants homeowners and sellers to be aware that criminals are using wire fraud schemes to steal money meant for home purchases or the proceeds from the sale of the property.
What is Phishing/Wire Fraud
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.
News
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‘Fraudsters Gotta Eat Too:’ The Title Industry Navigates an Uptick in 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.”
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.
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.
The Docket: Ohio Court Holds Escrow Agency May Be Liable for Wire Fraud, Remands for Further Proceedings
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.
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.”
Shaddock National Holdings Partners With CertifID to Combat Wire Fraud
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.
FBI Says BEC Scams Targeting Real Estate Increasing
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.
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.”
Report: Consumers Lose $106K on Average to Wire Fraud
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.
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.
CertifID, Riebling Insurance, Fidelity Partner to Provide Wire Fraud Coverage for Agents
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
Teacher Left Broke After Real Estate Scammers Steal $200K in Life Savings
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.
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.
Scammers are Out to get Your Mortgage Money and Even Your Home. Here’s How to Fight Them Off
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.
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.
How Title Companies are Combating Wire Fraud
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.