Business payment fraud (BEC) · Also called mortgage closing scam, closing funds wire fraud, title company email scam, conveyancing fraud

Real estate closing wire fraud

Real estate wire fraud is a scam in which criminals who have hacked or imitated the email of a buyer's agent, title company, or lawyer send last-minute changes to the wiring instructions for a home purchase. The buyer wires the down payment or closing funds to the criminals, and the money can be very hard to get back.

How it works

1. Criminals gain access to the email account of someone in the sale, such as a buyer, seller, agent, lawyer, or title company.
2. They watch the transaction and learn when money is due.
3. Days before closing, they send an email that looks like it is from the agent or title company, with new wiring instructions or a switch from check to wire.
4. The buyer wires the funds to the criminals' account, from which the money may be moved to other accounts at home or abroad.

Red flags

• You receive an email with last-minute changes to the wiring or payment instructions for closing.
• The message asks you to confirm details by calling a number or clicking a link in the email.
• You are asked to switch from a check to a wire transfer, or to send money to a different account.
• Someone calls asking you to verify your personal or financial details during the sale.

If you are targeted

• Stop: do not send any more money until you have spoken to your agent or title company on a number you already have.
• Contact your bank or wire transfer company immediately and ask it to stop or reverse the wire; timing is critical.
• Report it. Our Report a scam page lists where to report in your country, such as ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US.

Where to report, by country

Prevention

For individuals

• Early in the sale, write down trusted phone numbers for your agent and settlement agent, and consider agreeing a code phrase.
• Confirm wiring instructions, including the account name and number, in person or by calling a number you saved, not one in an email.
• Never send financial information by email.

For organisations

• Title companies and agents can tell clients in writing at the start that wiring instructions will never change by email, and how to confirm them by phone.
• Before releasing or receiving closing funds, confirm the account details by calling a number already on file, and turn on multi-factor authentication for company email.

By the numbers

Figures are for the reporting category this scam falls under, not this scam alone.

Real cases

No documented case in the atlas yet. New cases are added as they are sourced.

Delivered through: Spear phishing, Voice phishing (vishing)

How official datasets classify it

FBI IC3

Business Email Compromise

UK Finance

Invoice & mandate scam

Scamwatch

Business email compromise scams

MITRE ATT&CK

T1684.001, T1657

Questions

My title company emailed new wiring instructions. Is that normal?

Treat it as a warning sign. Call the title company or your agent on a number you saved earlier, not one in the email, and confirm the account details before you wire anything.

I wired my closing funds to a scammer. What should I do?

Call your bank or wire transfer company immediately to try to stop or reverse the wire, then file a complaint at ic3.gov. Timing is critical, so act as soon as you notice.

Related scams

• Vendor invoice and payment redirection
• Rental listing scam

Read more

• Phishing attacks: how to identify and avoid phishing scams
• Social engineering attacks: prevention and best practices