Wire fraud advisory

How the scam actually works

Criminals compromise an email account somewhere in the transaction — an agent, a lender, a buyer, occasionally a title office. Then they read quietly, for weeks. They learn the parties, the property, the closing date, and the way everyone writes.

A day or two before closing, an email arrives that looks exactly right. Correct names, correct address, correct closing date, a signature block that matches. It says the wiring instructions have changed, or attaches them for the first time, and it asks you to send funds today. The domain is off by one character you will not notice.

You wire. The money moves through several accounts within hours and is usually gone for good. Recovery is possible only when the fraud is caught almost immediately, and often it is not possible at all.

The rules that keep you safe

• Never trust wiring instructions that arrive by email, text, or attachment — including instructions that appear to come from us.
• Call to verify every set of instructions, and call a number you independently confirmed. Never a number printed in the email.
• Treat urgency as a warning sign. Real closings can absorb an hour of verification. Fraud cannot.
• Confirm the wire arrived by calling your escrow officer after you send it. Do not wait for a confirmation email.
• Be skeptical of any change to bank details, account names, or receiving institutions, however plausible the explanation sounds.

If you think you have been targeted

Move immediately — hours matter more than anything else.

1. Call your bank and ask for a wire recall. Say the words "fraudulent wire" so it is escalated correctly.
2. Call us so we can confirm what was and was not sent from our office.
3. File a complaint with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Its Recovery Asset Team can sometimes freeze funds if reported fast.
4. Contact your local FBI field office and preserve every email, including full headers.