When you buy a home, many mortgage brokers ask that you wire the down payment.
While this is a common practice, mortgage wire fraud is on the rise, and with some of the new technologies on the market, they’ve become more sophisticated than ever, making it difficult to detect. In many circumstances, scammers can make it look like their emails and phone calls are coming from your mortgage broker, so while you think you’re sending money to your broker, you’re actually sending it to scammers. Unfortunately, once that wire is initiated, that money is gone, and, in most cases, there’s nothing you can do to get it back.
That’s why it’s so important to know how to protect yourself from mortgage wire fraud. A recent article from realtor.com outlined tips to help prevent this type of scam, including:
- Secure your online information. The first step to protect yourself from fraud — including mortgage wire fraud — is to secure sensitive information about accounts. Make sure to use secure passwords and pay for identity protection, which will monitor your accounts online and let you know if there’s any suspicious activity.
- Confirm instructions with your loan officer. Before you initiate a wire transfer, call your loan officer directly at their known phone number and review the protocol. Never initiate a wire based on email instructions.
- Ask your banker to confirm the recipient. Before you wire money, ask your bank to confirm the wire location and recipient to make sure it matches your title company’s information.