There has been rampant wire fraud taking place in the real estate industry. This morning, I received an email appearing to contain a purchase and sales agreement for a new transaction with a link to download the contract.
A Loan Officer’s first instinct is to click on that link to review the new transaction… however, I didn’t recognize the real estate agent or anything else that was referenced on the email. Another huge red flag was that the real estate agent was requesting a “full payment wire transfer now”.
I decided to Google the real estate agent and reach out to her. Sure enough, her voice mail stated that her email had been hacked and that if you received an email regarding this so-called transaction requesting a wire transfer, it was not legit and NOT to click the link.
I’ve received phishing emails before… but this is probably the most brazen email that I’ve personally received.
The title and escrow company that I prefer to work with has this warning on their emails:
**Be aware! Online banking fraud is on the rise. If you receive an email containing WIRE TRANSFER INSTRUCTIONS call your escrow officer immediately to verify the information prior to sending funds.**
I’m so glad I didn’t start today (Friday the 13th! LOL) by clicking the link in this email! Some times it pays to be a little paranoid 😉
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