DID YOU JUST WIRE $100,000 OF YOUR ESCROW MONEY TO THE DARK WEB?

DID YOU JUST WIRE $100,000 OF YOUR ESCROW MONEY TO THE DARK WEB?

Rule #1:  Daryl Judy will never give you wire instructions for the purchase or sale of your home!

I have never seen so much wire fraud as I am seeing today.  It seems to get worse by the day.  I just had another client who almost lost $100,000 to the Dark Web. 

This did NOT HAPPEN because the Buyer called Daryl late one night questioning why the title company was being so difficult and there was confusion with wiring instructions.  Daryl immediately reached out to the attorney for the title company who followed up with the client right away.  It turns out the Buyer’s e-mail had been hacked. 

We caught this within 24 hours of the money being wired, which kept it from going out of the country where it would have been lost forever as it would be untraceable in a shell account. 

The Buyer had a gut feeling something was wrong.  The title attorney was on top of his game and Daryl responded immediately to connect the dots.

HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN AND HOW CAN YOU HELP TO PREVENT WIRE FRAUD?

A hacker has access to your e-mail for an average of 10 months before they act on stealing from you.  The savviest people get taken advantage of . . . so never let your guard down! 

We’ve included a few helpful tips:

Secure your devises

• Use Software Programs to Protect your e-mail/computer
• Use e-mails that have strong firewalls – the free ones like Gmail, Yahoo and AOL are easier to hack
• Keep your passwords up-to-date and unique
• Be Vigilant
• Slow Down
• Read e-mail addresses and look for changes to e-mails as they are typically very similar to the real, original e-mail
• Check all phone numbers shared

Be Suspicious

• Beware of urgent wires on Fridays or holidays
• Look out for changes in money requests from previous requests
•  Be aware of Differences in communication/direction
•  Notice Important parties being left off e-mails
•  Look out for urgent changes
•  Call Title company to confirm before initiating a wire

Use Secure Communication

•  Title companies use secure systems that can’t be hacked like Qualia
•  Speak to the lender & title company on the phone to double check for security
•  Rule #1 – Daryl Judy will NEVER give you wire instructions