Scam Library

Real Estate and Wire Fraud

During a home purchase or sale, right around closing, you receive an email that appears to be from your title company, real estate agent, or attorney with updated wire transfer instructions for your closing funds.

Warning signs

What to watch for

Wire instructions that change or arrive close to the closing date
An email address that's slightly different from previous correspondence in the transaction
Urgent language pushing you to wire funds quickly without double-checking
Instructions that arrive by email only, with no phone confirmation

Stay safe

How to verify

Call your title company or agent directly, using a number from a prior document — not the email — to verbally confirm any wire instructions before sending money
Be suspicious of any change to wire instructions during a transaction, no matter how official the email looks

Already sent money or shared a password?

Contact your bank using the number on the back of your card, or the official number on your statement — not any number from the suspicious message.

Not sure if something you received matches this pattern?

Check a Message