Real Estate Related Scams

Watch our for these real estate scams! Protect yourself.

By Sarah Ward REALTOR®

Fake Wiring Instruction Hacks

A particularly horrible real estate scam that is currently prevalent and heartbreaking works as follows: Unbeknownst to a buyer of property, an evil person has hacked into their email and is lying in wait so to speak. This hacker monitors many email accounts and finds someone entering into a real estate transaction. The hacker then sends emails to the buyer that say “Hi! My name is Tony (or similar) and I will be assisting you with transferring funds for this transaction. I just wanted to introduce myself and give you congratulations on your pending home purchase.”

These fake emails have authentic logos and look to be official, from title or escrow companies. The hacker will send additional emails such as “Hi it’s Tony again, your funds transfer agent. Just checking in. Everything with this transaction is in process and going smoothly”.

Sophisticated hackers use professional email logos and monitor the transaction through the email system for time-lines and down payment amounts.

Finally, the hacker sends an email that states “Hi it’s Tony. It’s time to wire funds for your home purchase! Please wire your $150,000 down payment to the following bank number as soon as possible so we can close your transaction on-time!” Then a week or so later, the actual escrow company asks the buyer to wire-in the down payments funds. Imagine the heartbreak and upset when the buyer and escrow officer realize the fraud has occurred, all the money is stolen by an overseas fraudster and the purchase has fallen through. This scenario has happened many many times.

The Association of Realtors has recently designed an advisory form with extremely large type to warn buyers of this real estate scam. Additionally, many escrow officers now explain this fraud to buyers at the beginning of the transaction and inform buyers to NEVER respond to emailed wiring instructions. Wiring instructions must be obtained through telephone calls directly to the escrow officer or funds are to be paid by cashier’s check to the escrow company instead of by wire.

The Grandchild Scam

Another heartbreaking scam that is happening all over this country with much greater frequency is the “grandchild scam”. Hackers find the email addresses of elderly people and search for the names and ages of their grandchildren. Many times, elderly people have a landline still listed in the white pages. Then an email or phone-call is sent from an official looking attorney. The grandparent is told that their grandchild has caused a serious DUI accident (or similar) and is sitting in a Mexican (or similar) prison and is in immediate need of attorney’s fees, bail, and damages.

Last year over 500 incidents PER WEEK were reported to the US Treasury Dept. Many people lose tens of thousands of dollars. But with 10,000 Americans per day turning 65, this scam is expected to increase. If you have elderly family members please discuss with them how this scam works and to call you with any concerns. The American Bankers Association is instructing member banks to train employees to look for red flags and potential victims. Congress passed the Senior Safe Act last year to allow banks to look for and report these scams.

If you are thinking of buying or selling this year, give me a call for a no obligation chat on all your options. 858-431-6043 or here.