Many real estate transactions have migrated to electronic platforms, and along with the increased functionality comes greater vulnerability from fraud, specifically hackers.
Many companies will no longer wire funds on the basis of a single email. There are additional protocol
s that have been put into place to safeguard the transaction from scam artists.
Policies and protocols now require at least a phone call to be made to the seller, the attorneys and those connected with the deal.
The availability of information over the Internet has precipitated additional precautions to be instituted to identify when hackers are attempting to interfere with the financial transaction.
What makes the market even more vulnerable is the fact that transactions are increasing, creating a lot more “i dottings and t crossings.” It is not unusual for real estate professions to do multiple closings in a day.
Last year, the National Association of Realtors posted, “Criminals are hacking into the email accounts of real estate agents or other persons involved in a real estate transaction and using information gained from the hack to dupe a party into a fraudulent wire transfer. The hackers often send an email that appears to be from an individual legitimately involved in the transaction, informing the recipient, often the buyer, that there has been a last minute change to the wiring instructions. Following the new instructions, the recipient will wire funds directly to the hacker’s account, which will be cleared out in a matter of minutes. The money is almost always lost forever.”
Ralph Aponte, President of Counsellors Title Agency located in Toms River, explained, “Everyone that I have dealt with over the last few years has had to deal with these types of hackers seeking to perpetrate their kind of fraud; and it’s only going to increase in the future. What was common back in the days of the Wild West is now happening online, except they don’t wear masks, but come cloaked in seemingly authoritative emails.”
“We have put into place a number of measures, including secure servers, confirmation protocols and other processes,” concluded Mr. Aponte.
If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.
Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.com, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.