CertifID, which offers solutions for preventing wire transfer fraud, recently released a new ebook, Clear To Close, that spells out the steps real estate agents and mortgage lenders need to take to prevent wire fraud.
The ebook covers the size and scope of the wire fraud epidemic, including why real estate transactions are a top target for cybercrime syndicates and how fraud affects all parties in a transaction.
It also includes a list of questions real estate agents must ask themselves to determine if they are covered for a wire fraud-related loss.
Lastly, it explains how to recover if a wire fraud occurs.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, criminals attempted to divert more than $90 billion in wire transfers between June of 2016 and December of 2018.
These “trick and transfer” scams are at the center of Business Email Compromise (BEC) epidemic that threatens nearly all businesses in the U.S., CertifID says in a release.
The real estate sector has become a prime target for cyber perpetrators – and everyone in a transaction, from the buyer, seller, bank to the title agency, is at risk.
“Real estate is a $33 trillion industry, which makes it the hottest market for fraud, and because the transactions can be so large, scammers only need one or two successes to earn significant amounts of money,” says Thomas Cronkright II, co-founder and CEO of CertifID, in the release. “Prevention starts with protection, and in my new ebook, I outline the simple steps that banks, title companies, and individuals can take to stop fraudsters before they can even come close to a transaction.”