BEWARE OF THIS SCAM!
REALLY!!! BEWARE OF SCAM!
Buying a new home is exciting and stressful. You saved for the down payment, scheduled the move, and are dreaming of planting new roots. Closing is right around the corner… unless a scammer gets your settlement fees first.You can now add dangerous to the adjectives. There is a new scam in town.
On March 18 the FTC Consumer Blog issued a post focused on hackers who have been breaking into some consumers’ and real estate professionals’ email accounts to get information about upcoming real estate transactions. After figuring out the closing dates, the hacker sends an email to the buyer, posing as the real estate professional or title company. The bogus email says there has been a last minute change to the wiring instructions, and tells the buyer to wire closing costs to a different account. But it’s the scammer’s account. This is a scam. If the buyer takes the bait, their bank account could be cleared out in a matter of minutes. Often, that’s money the buyer will never see again.
There is an easy fix to this scam. Don’t ever accept an email as he last word for a financial transaction. Call your realtor or lender or title company…whoever ‘sent’ the email. Confirm the information. There is always a person who can confirm. BEWARE!!