Wire fraud is real and happening everywhere, including right here in West Michigan. This video released by the National Association of REALTORS legal team shares good tips on how to protect yourself against wire fraud and reminds us to never send financial information via email.
The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) has provided the following information: "NAR Notice - Cyber Fraud: One threat hitting the real estate industry particularly hard is a scheme that leads to wire fraud. It starts with email password hacking, which grants criminals access to money wiring correspondence. Johnson says passwords are usually acquired through a phishing scheme, and once they’re in, they study your email and wait for wire instructions. They use the opportunity to send their own bogus wire instructions to clients. The money is sent to a fraudulent account, usually offshore, and is gone forever...If it does happen to you, contact the local FBI field house immediately. The FBI is actively investigating these crimes. Also, make all the financial institutions involved aware if a crime does occur. Learn more about what you can do to protect yourself against wire fraud."
