Protecting Yourself From Wire Fraud During Your Real Estate Closing

This is one of the most important posts I’ve written, and I mean that sincerely. Real estate wire fraud has become a significant and growing threat, and buyers losing their entire down payment and closing funds to scammers is a real, devastating occurrence that happens across the country every year, including here in the Upstate. Understanding how to protect yourself is essential.

How This Scam Works

Wire fraud targeting real estate closings typically follows a similar pattern. Criminals gain access to email communications related to a real estate transaction, often by hacking or spoofing the email account of an agent, attorney, or title company. Once inside that communication thread, they send an email to the buyer, appearing to come from the closing attorney or title company, with new or “updated” wire instructions for sending closing funds.

The email often looks completely legitimate, sometimes even replying within an existing email thread to appear authentic. The buyer, believing they’re following standard closing instructions, wires their funds — sometimes their entire life savings — directly into the criminal’s account. Once a wire transfer is sent, it is extremely difficult, and often impossible, to recover the funds.

The Single Most Important Rule

Never trust wire instructions received solely by email, even if the email appears completely legitimate and even if it comes from an email thread you’ve been using throughout your transaction. Always verify wire instructions by calling your closing attorney’s office directly, using a phone number you obtained independently — from their official website, a business card, or a prior verified conversation, never a phone number provided in the email containing the wire instructions themselves.

This verification step should happen every single time you’re preparing to wire funds, even if you’ve successfully wired funds earlier in the same transaction without issue. Scammers sometimes wait until the final, largest wire — your closing funds — to strike, after building trust through smaller, legitimate-seeming exchanges earlier in the process.

Other Warning Signs to Watch For

Be suspicious of any last-minute change to previously provided wire instructions, especially if it arrives with urgency or pressure to act quickly. Watch for email addresses that look nearly identical to a legitimate contact’s address but contain a subtle misspelling or different domain. Be wary of any communication that discourages you from calling to verify or claims that verification isn’t necessary this time.

What to Do If You Suspect Fraud

If you’ve already sent a wire and suspect it went to a fraudulent account, contact your bank immediately and request a wire recall, then file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov. Time is critical — the faster you act, the marginally better your chances of stopping or recovering the funds, though recovery is never guaranteed once a wire has been sent.

How I Protect My Clients

I always encourage my clients to call our closing attorney’s office directly using a number I provide from a verified source, confirmed independently of any single email, before sending any wire transfer. I’d genuinely rather you call and double-check every single time than assume it’s unnecessary because everything else in the transaction has gone smoothly.

If you have any questions about wire safety during your upcoming transaction, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Call or text me at 864.913.8295 or email Ambur.Davis@Century21Blackwell.com — this is one topic where I’d rather you ask twice than not ask at all.