Wire Fraud Red Flags Every Buyer and Agent Should Know
Wire fraud in real estate is no longer a fringe risk. It is a quiet, well-engineered industry. The good news: nearly every successful wire fraud follows a small set of patterns, and the verification habit that stops them takes thirty seconds.
The patterns
- An email that "updates" wire instructions late in the deal, often the day before signing.
- A reply-to address that is one character different from a real one (a "rn" instead of "m," for example).
- A message expressing urgency, secrecy, or asking the buyer to bypass the agent or escrow.
- A PDF attachment with bank details that don't match the TITLE company you've been working with.
- An odd time-of-day, weekend, or "out of office" framing meant to discourage a confirmation call.
The verification routine
- Call the TITLE company on a number you already had on file. Do not use the number on the new email.
- Ask them to read the wire instructions back to you. Do not read them yours first.
- Confirm the bank name, ABA, and account number match what they read.
- If anything is different, do not send the wire. Pick up the phone again.
If it has already gone out
Time is everything. Within the first 24 hours, the receiving bank can sometimes recall the wire. Call the sending bank's fraud line immediately, file a complaint at IC3.gov, and notify your TITLE company and FBI field office. We have seen full recoveries when the call happens within hours, and almost none when it happens days later.
The agent's role
Agents are the first line of defense, because clients trust them more than the TITLE company they just met. A 60-second reminder during the contract phase - "we will never email you new wire instructions, always call to confirm" - prevents almost every successful attempt we see.