Wire fraud has more than doubled over the past two years, and since 2013 has cost more than $12 billion in the U.S. Between 2016-18 the incidence of wire fraud grew 136 percent, attracting the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and NAMB.
As a result, NAMB has urged members to share this information with their communities. “NAMB is encouraged by the extended conversations that the media, industry experts and neighbors are having on this multi-billion-dollar scamming reality that certainly threatens the many trusts our overall industry has built with consumers,” said Valerie Saunders, executive director of NAMB. “We want people to be confident that there are resources available to them to help avoid this devastating criminal element.”
Among the best practices, or in FBI vernacular tips, are ways to help originators and their clients understand the realities of wire fraud and help them prevent the crimes from happening to them.
Among the best practices are the following:
- Be vigilant: Homebuyers should first just be aware that they may be a targeted by scammers in this manner and should act accordingly to verify any suspicious correspondence associated with their home purchase or sale.
- Voice verify: It might seem cumbersome in an already long homebuying process but following up emails with a voice verification is a must. That's especially true if the email involves e-signing a document, logging into a new website, transacting money or supplying any kind of financial information.
- Talk to your bank: While not all banks may follow the guidelines you suggest, most will honor your request to not allow any wire transfers without a voice verification or other checkpoint from you. This is especially true for business accounts, but even individuals going through a real-estate transaction can request a note be added to their primary accounts to put additional steps in place before allowing wire transactions to go through.
- Don't react immediately to email: Emails asking you to take some type of action, purporting to be from a title company, attorneys, realtors, bank lawyers or others involved in a transaction may not be authentic. Regard any of them with suspicion, and should follow-up with them by calling phone numbers that were in your database before the questionable email arrived.
