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Protect yourself and know that wire fraud is on the rise with hackers attacking both realtors emails as well as title companies!
In todays cyber world it’s no surprise that we’ve opened ourselves up to unfamiliar ways to be scammed. As of late, hackers are gaining access to your funds by first finding a way into your email. They do this by hacking your password. Once they’ve hacked into your email they’re on the look out for any correspondence that relates to wire transfers, yours or if your a real state agent, they’re looking for your clients. Next they hoist the signatures and email as you or as the title company claiming that a change was made and a “New Wire Account” is being sent for the transfer of funds on your purchase. You unassumingly – – or your clients, wire the funds over and just like that.. the funds for purchasing are GONE!
So what can you do??
#1 PROTECT YOURSELF – CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD
If you haven’t changed your password in a while.. I suggest you do it today! And please.. PLEASE don’t make it your last name plus the number one, your dogs name plus your anniversary.. or something easy like this. YES! That’s easy to figure out for any hacker who has access to any of your very public records, social media, etc!
#2 VERIFY ALL TRANSFERS BY CALLING FIRST
I know, it’s a pain, but one extra step can prevent a massacre of your finances. CALL YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT, CALL THE TITLE COMPANY, CALL FIRST, All before you press send or even enter a digit in from any email claiming to be the title company.
#3 AGENTS USE DISCLAIMERS
If you’re an agent, use a disclaimer at the bottom of your email. Inform your sellers and buyers of the possible scams and fraud that are out there and to verify all wire account transfers first by phone with the requested agency.
Did I mention.. CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD! The most simple and easy way tot protect yourself is to change your password frequently! Set an alert on your phone to update your password once a month. This minor inconvenience is much more palatable then you or clients loosing thousands of dollars.
Be safe! Fraud is on the rise. You may think you’re the last person anyone would concern themselves with to hack, but fraud has no personal boundaries. They’re looking for the least protected and easiest to hack into. Is that you?