PayoffProtect, a mortgage-payoff verification product of wire fraud protection company CertifID, tracked a five-time increase in mortgage payoff fraud attempts from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2023. CertifID also predicts that losses will accelerate as July’s numbers show similarly elevated levels of payoff fraud attempts, an early indication of potential for major losses in the third quarter of 2023.
The spike comes as PayoffProtect reached its one-year milestone, protecting over 150,000 transactions worth $37 billion with its software, services and insurance.
Real estate wire fraud, a sub-category of business email compromise, represents one of the most financially damaging fraud schemes and has become a major focus of the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center “due to its prevalence in the United States and the effect it can have on the individual victims.”
With PayoffProtect, real estate firms and title agencies can validate the authenticity of wire instructions to help ensure that payments are secure. The product has delivered verification success in 96.5% of all transactions processed, typically instantly. This has enabled firms using CertifID to reduce fraud risk while saving an estimated 38,000-plus employee hours in total.
“Since PayoffProtect’s release one year ago, transaction volumes have grown at an impressive clip, but what is truly remarkable is the improved security and efficiency our customers experience over legacy processes,” says Tyler Adams, CEO at CertifID. “All indications are that fraud will continue to climb, and having products like PayoffProtect will enable companies to bring on stronger measures to protect themselves.”
Image by Luis Molinero on Freepik.
