IT administrators can protect their email systems.
Down payment wire fraud affects borrowers and mortgage companies across the country. This scam, aimed specifically at homebuyers, tricks people into sending money to a fraudulent offshore account. CNBC explains that it works because the transfer request comes disguised as the email account of the actual real estate broker working with the homebuyer. The scam relies on the eagerness of the first-time homebuyer and the confusion surrounding closing day, which for most people represents the single largest monetary payment of their lives. When everything about the home buying experience is new, borrowers are unlikely to notice the fake “broker” has requested the down payment money be sent to a new account.