Are you doing enough to protect yourself, your brokerage, your clients and other parties involved in a real estate transaction from wire fraud?
Throughout the Greater Boston region and the rest of the Country, REALTORS® have been and are targeted by criminals looking to interrupt real estate deal upon deal by fraudulently inserting their “scam” into the transaction.
Whether it’s because of vulnerabilities in certain commonly-use email programs, password breaches or not paying close enough attention to the details; not knowing up-front the protocol of always calling to confirm email instructions, to not adequately informing buyers and sellers or other team members of the precautions they must undertake to prevent fraud during the course of the real estate transaction; understanding how the fraud can be perpetrated will save you time and money in the long run.
Watch this video to see how easy it can be to scam an unaware REALTOR®. Presented by a licensee who has personally been affected by watching tens of thousands of dollars go missing not just once, but several times, the video demonstrates in full detail how a typical fraud can be pulled off. Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has prepared a
public service announcement detailing various versions of business email compromise (BEC) scams and tips to protect yourself from falling victim to one. Finally, the NAR legal department has issued
guidance on best practices for protecting your business and your clients from cyber fraud.
If you, or a party to a real estate transaction that you are involved with have fallen prey to scammers, notify your insurance carrier and the FBI immediately. Waiting more than 24 hours likely means you will jeopardize any chance of recovering funds.
Other useful tools to be shared with your clients can be found on the NAR website
realtor.org