“Justin Rubinstein, a licensed associate real estate broker at Compass, was working with a buyer to close on a one-bedroom condo on the Williamsburg waterfront in June of 2016. As the deal was being finalized, the client received an email, from his lawyer, providing specific instructions about where to wire a $213,500 down payment.
Within moments of sending the money, the client discovered that the wiring instructions had not been sent by his lawyer, but by a scammer, and that he was a victim of wire fraud. But the client got lucky. He alerted his bank immediately and was able to put a freeze on the account before the funds were transferred.” (Biggs 2020)
With huge fund transfers happening on a daily basis in real estate, the sector has always been a lucrative target. Among the most prevalent hacks are business email compromise attacks. These attacks impersonate a senior figure within an organization, tricking victims to urgently transfer funds in transactions that appear to be routine. (Donati, 2019). Also, wire fraud scams often take place right be for the weekend or on holidays right before the banks shut down.
As a buyer or seller, there are some steps you may take to protect yourself in a real estate transaction.
- Never ever send money without verbally verifying it with your lawyer, broker or their firm first.
- Don’t use public Wi-Fi networks. It increases your vulnerability.
- Take a close look at the email address. It may appear to be from your agent’s or attorney’s email but it’s not from their server.
- An agent should NEVER ask for your bank account info. Your lender might need it, or the title company. But if they do, you should provide it to them in person.
- If you see what appears to be a suspicious email that comes from somebody you know but looks oddly suspicious, just call your agent on the phone and double check.
- File a compliant with the FBI’s official Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Right Size Realty is here to help you with all your real estate needs. Please contact one of our agents if you are thinking of buying or selling a home, office or business.
Rodney McCoy 601.383.1019
Jamie McCoy 601.259.0461
Andrew Tyre 601.842.4270
Dianne Nelson 601.421.7094
References
Biggs, C. (January 3, 2020). How to Protect Yourself from Real Estate Scams. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/realestate/how-to-protect-yourself-from-real-estate-scams.html
Donati, A. (June 12, 2019). The Multibillion-Dollar Problem of Weak Cybersecurity in Real Estate. Forbes. Retrieved from: The Multibillion-Dollar Problem Of Weak Cybersecurity in Real Estate