Unfortunately, the real estate industry is not immune to cyber crimes. Tech-savvy criminals have found ways to infiltrate closing transactions and reroute funds to their personal accounts instead of the title agency.
To ensure that you and your clients do not become victim to these devastating schemes, here are some tips to protect everyone’s best interest:
- Do not send wiring instructions to your clients! All wiring instructions will come directly from Hodge & Temple, or the lender in a secured capacity. It is important that you explain this to them in person at the beginning of the closing process. Let them know that any communication indicating a change to wiring instructions may indicate fraud. When in doubt, have your client call us directly at 404-946-9333 before initiating the wire.
- Avoid using a free, web based email account (i.e. gmail, hotmail) for business communications as those are easier for cyber criminals to compromise.
- Do not click on suspicious links, attachments, or emails. When in doubt, call Hodge & Temple!
- Always use a strong and secure password. A strong password is made up of 8 characters comprised of 1 uppercase lowercase letter, one special character (like a ! or #), and at least one number. It also a good idea to change passwords every 90 days.
Get a more in depth explanation of the cyber crimes from our title agent, Old Republic:
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