Guide
Wire Fraud Warnings for Homebuyers: What to Tell Every Buyer
Homebuyers should never wire closing funds based on instructions received by email or text alone; they should call the title or escrow office at a phone number they already know to confirm the instructions before sending money.
By TitleMagic · Published · 4 min read
How closing wire fraud works
Criminals watch for real estate transactions, often by breaking into an email account of someone involved in the deal. Shortly before closing they send the buyer convincing “updated” wiring instructions that look like they come from the title company, lender or agent. Once the money is wired to the criminal’s account it is very hard to recover.
The warning every buyer should hear early and often
- Our wiring instructions will not change by email. Treat any message saying they changed as suspicious.
- Before you wire, call us at a phone number you already know, such as one from our website or your first meeting, never a number in the email.
- Read the account details back to the person you reach and confirm the amount.
- After wiring, call again to confirm the funds arrived.
- Be wary of urgency, unusual grammar, slightly misspelled email addresses or requests for secrecy.
If a buyer thinks they wired money to the wrong account
- Call the sending bank immediately and ask for a wire recall; speed matters most
- Notify the title or escrow office using a known phone number
- File a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov and contact local law enforcement
- Keep every email, text and bank record related to the transfer
Keep wiring details out of everyday email
The less often wiring details travel by email, the fewer chances there are to tamper with them. TitleMagic Magic Link emails never contain wiring instructions or sensitive numbers: they contain only a personal link to the client’s form, and the information the client enters stays inside TitleMagic, encrypted at rest.
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