![]() ![]() If you do this, the scammers will rescind their initial payment, leaving you out of pocket.Ĭathy Whitaker listed about 60 items on Facebook Marketplace within two days and almost instantly, the offers began flowing into her direct message inbox. In this scam, fake buyers claim they accidentally sent too much money via wire transfer and ask you to return the difference. Your lender should be able to verify the bank account information without hesitation.Ģ. Contact your attorney directly to confirm the wire transfer details.An unexpected email prompting you to make a deposit urgently is a red flag. It's a good idea to agree on a password that trusted parties can use on future phone calls. Discuss the closing process with your real estate agent in person.Soon after, the real paralegal got in touch, and Jenna realized she had been scammed. Jenna Carlson is another victim of this scam - someone impersonated the paralegal at her realtor’s office.Īs the email included all of the correct details, Jenna promptly wired $42,000 to secure her dream home. Once scammers hack your emails, they can trick you into thinking you’re conversing with your agent or attorney. A single real estate scam could net criminals millions of dollars in wealthy neighborhoods like Beverly Hills or Manhattan. Real estate wire fraud (aka mortgage wire fraud)Īs the Fisher family found out, real estate fraud is a very real threat. Here are some examples of scams to watch out for - and what you can do to avoid them. Wire transfer scams have made a big comeback in recent years. “Processing fees” for fraudulent lottery winnings.The 9 Latest Wire Transfer Scams (and How To Spot Them) But if you made a mistake and seemingly authorized the transfer from your device or number, it's unlikely that the wire transfer can be reversed. In these cases when the bank is at fault, your bank representatives are more likely to help. The recipient received a higher amount of money than you intended to send.Your bank made an error with the recipient's account number.However, a reversal is only permitted in specific circumstances: On international wire transfers, there is a small window of about 30 minutes during which you could potentially recall the funds. Once the receiving bank accepts the funds, you cannot reverse the transaction. You can only reverse a wire transfer if the sending bank notifies the receiving bank of your cancellation request before the receiving bank processes the transfer. Wire transfers happen almost instantaneously - giving scammers quick access to your money. After payment has been accepted, it's virtually impossible to get the stolen funds back. Because of the immediacy of wire transfers, the scammer takes possession of the money almost instantly.The victim thinks they are making a legitimate transfer but is actually sending money to the scammer. Everything about the transfer will appear genuine, but the recipient account details will differ.Or, they could pose as an executive at a company and request changes to the wire transfer destination for a large payment. For example, fraudsters could insert themselves in an email conversation between homebuyers, attorneys, and title companies.In other scenarios, they infiltrate legitimate conversations online and manipulate valid payment information. Scammers send phishing messages and demand payment via wire transfers.Here’s how a typical wire transfer scam plays out: By the time victims realize they’ve been scammed, the fraudster is gone - with their money. What Are Wire Transfer Scams?Ī wire transfer scam occurs when a con artist poses as a trusted authority - like a bank, colleague, or family member - and convinces victims to send money via electronic bank transfers.īecause wire transfers are nearly instantaneous and extremely difficult to reverse, they present a preferred payment method for scammers. In this guide, we’ll cover how wire transfer scams work, the warning signs to watch out for, and what to do if you wire funds to a fraudster. If you’re dealing with a situation in which you need to wire money, it pays to be extra diligent. Then, they sent digital copies of the actual closing documents and wire transfer instructions - but swapped out the money transfer’s destination for their own.Īccording to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC): Americans lost over $311 million to wire transfer fraud in 2022 alone. Using spoofed email addresses, hackers hijacked an email thread between Aaron and his real estate agent. Instead, Aaron got caught up in a nightmare having sent his life savings to fraudsters as part of an elaborate wire transfer scam. When Aaron Fisher wired over $900,000 to a Wells Fargo account for the down payment on his dream home, he thought he was securing his family’s future.
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