It's almost time to close on your new home — until you discover your closing funds went to a scammer's account, with no way to get them back. Fake emails are one of cybercriminals' oldest tricks, and more unwary buyers fall for them every year. Here's how to make sure you're not one of them.
As you approach closing, large sums of money start moving — and that's exactly when criminals strike. Don't think it could happen to you? These scams are convincing precisely because they use real details from your transaction. Knowing the playbook is the best way to shut it down.
Hackers quietly compromise the email account of someone in your transaction — it could be an agent, a brokerage assistant, an attorney, or someone at the title company.
They monitor the messages to collect the details that make a fake look real: your closing date, the property address, your name and email, and the brokerages, title company, and banks involved.
With closing imminent, they email you wire instructions straight from the hacked account. Because it's sent from a real account and includes accurate details, it looks completely legitimate.
The point of no return: once the money moves — often offshore — there's typically no way to get it back.
A bank may refund a fraudulent credit-card charge, but it's rarely responsible for a wire you authorized — even if you were tricked. Prevention is everything.
If you get an email about wire transfers, don't act on it — and don't trust any phone number, link, or detail inside the message itself.
Call me to confirm your closing status, then call the title company at a number you look up independently to confirm the wiring instructions before sending a cent. A phone call can feel like a hassle, but voice verification is the only reliable defense against real estate wire fraud.
Consider asking your bank to require voice verification — or another security step — before any wire leaves your accounts. One more step, but worth it when so much is at stake.
Urgency is a scammer's favorite tool. A sudden "last-minute change" to where funds should go is a red flag — pause and verify before you act.
Legitimate instructions come from the title company, and they don't change at the last minute by email. If you ever receive a message asking you to wire funds — or telling you the account has changed — stop and call me or the title company at a number you already have, before doing anything.
In New Mexico your closing funds run through the title company, so we'll always confirm the details by phone before a dollar moves. And if you ever suspect you've been targeted, act fast: call your bank immediately and report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Minutes matter.
There's no such thing as a silly question when your life savings are on the line. As your Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR®), I'd far rather take a two-minute call to confirm wiring details than see you lose a dollar. Call me anytime something feels off.
It's a scam where criminals hack the email account of someone in your transaction — an agent, a brokerage assistant, an attorney, or someone at the title company — and quietly monitor the messages to learn your closing date, property address, name, and the companies and banks involved. When closing is near, they email you fake wire instructions from the compromised account. Because it includes accurate details, it looks completely legitimate, and once the money is wired (often offshore) it's usually gone for good.
Never trust wiring instructions or contact information that arrive by email. Before sending any funds, verify the details by phone: call your agent to confirm your closing status, then call the title company at a number you look up independently to confirm the wiring instructions. Voice verification is the only reliable defense. As an extra layer, ask your bank to require voice verification or another security step before any wire leaves your accounts.
Usually not. A bank may refund a fraudulent charge on your credit card, but it's rarely responsible for a wire transfer you authorized — even if you were tricked into sending it. That's exactly why prevention matters so much: with wire fraud, the money is typically unrecoverable, so stopping it before you hit send is your best protection.
Act immediately — minutes matter. Call your bank right away to try to halt or recall the wire, then report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Also call your agent and the title company at numbers you already have. The faster a fraudulent wire is reported, the better the (still slim) chance of recovering it, so don't wait.
Protecting your money is part of protecting your move. If anything about your closing or your funds ever feels off, reach out — I'm one phone call away. No pressure, no obligation.