Like many title agents, you have made cyber security a top issue, especially when it comes to wire instructions. Unfortunately, the real estate agents and attorneys that you work with still use their insecure email accounts as their main form of communication.
July 11, 2018
Wire fraud in real estate is one of the fastest growing cybercrimes in the country. The FBI reportedly received 301,580 complaints in 2017 and losses exceeded $1.4 billion, and in the real estate/rental sector alone, more than 9,600 victims lost over $56 million in the same year. Amy Niesen, Forbes
What is Inbound Wire Instruction Fraud?
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1. A Real Estate Professional’s email is hacked.
2. A counterfeit email is sent to the buyer.
3. Buyer’s funds are diverted from escrow.
How Fraud Happens
Crooks have become wise to this and are hacking those weak email accounts and waiting for the opportunity to send a buyer false wire instructions that are directed to a “Nigerian Prince”. Then, POOF, the money is gone. The closing doesn’t happen and everyone gets sued.
How to Secure Wire Instructions
Fortunately, the solution is simple! Take the wire instructions out of email and store them encrypted in the cloud with ShortTrack. No Bad Person can send fraudulent wire instructions, as the true wire instructions will sync from the title company software to ShortTrack, where only the buyer can access them.
But wait… I have email encryption!
Not only is email encryption cumbersome, but it is inadequate. Would you send valuable documents via FedEx without requiring a signature on delivery? No, because the driver would leave them on the front doorstep – where anyone can grab it.
Why do it with email? Your encrypted emails, once delivered, sit unencrypted on your customers’ email servers. Don’t leave it on the email doorstep – keep it encrypted in the cloud, delegate access, and prevent an NPI breach with ShortTrack.
