Four Consumers Targeted by Real Estate Wire Fraudsters: One

In Austin, Fraud has become a detrimental part of everyday life in the U.S.– and the real estate market is a frequent target.

CertifID, a leading wire fraud protection company, just released its State of Wire Fraud report identifying key risk factors for home buyers and sellers and calling for immediate corrective action.

Cyber Criminals Impersonate Realty Agents

More than one in four consumers have been targets of fraud in a real estate transaction, and nearly one in 20 have been victimized, CertifID reports. Such targeting, CertifID says, is often based on their location, experience and age.

Worse yet, a lack of sufficient cybersecurity protection measures “by a sector that handles trillions of dollars annually is harming American consumers, endangering businesses and enabling global cybercrime enterprises,” says the report by Austin-based CertifID.

In Fbi says Real Estate Wire Fraud Up 50, Fold

It also says the impact of wire fraud in real estate transactions has expanded by a factor of 50 in less than a decade, soaring from $9 million to $446 million in annual losses reported to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Wire fraud is a faceless crime rooted in lies and deception. One particularly prevalent form that often infects the real estate industry, the report says, is business email compromise, or BEC.

Business email compromise is a type of cybercrime in which the scammer uses email to trick someone into sending money or divulging confidential company data. The culprit poses as a trusted figure, then asks for a fake bill to be paid or for sensitive information they can use in another scam.

Many home buyers and sellers don’t know that wire fraud “is a thing,” says the report. “In 2024, we saw more stories about real estate wire fraud in the news –from tens of thousands of dollars in closing funds in Texas to transactions worth millions in Florida.”

The CertifID report says that “during a fraud attempt, scammers most often impersonate real estate agents. Fifty-eight percent of victims reported that suspicious communications appeared to come from their agent. The title agent or settlement agent was impersonated the next most frequently, by 41 percent of fraudsters.”

“Interestingly, loan officers were frequently impersonated in these scams (said 34 percent of respondents), even though they have no role in guiding the transfer of funds during a closing,” the report adds. “This underscores the lack of understanding by consumers on the role of each party in their transaction and what to expect in the process.”

Cybercrime, CertifID says, has increased in the housing sector due to the often-complex closing process involving multiple parties; public availability of property and listing data and the large sums of money involved.

Other key findings in the report include:

• 52 percent of consumers are “not aware” or only “somewhat aware” of the risks of wire fraud at the start of a real estate transaction.
• Only 47 percent of consumers were informed about the risks by their real estate professionals at the start of the process.
• First-time consumers look most often (35 percent of the time) to their real estate agent to protect them from wire fraud, while experienced consumers frequently seek help from their title company or attorney.

• Overall, 79 percent of consumers are willing to pay more to work with real estate providers who prioritize their security from wire fraud.